Investment scams can happen in person, over the phone, online, or through mail. The intent is to get someone to invest their money into an established industry, newly emerging sector, or any other type of opportunity. Once the money is obtained, it is not invested and kept by the person that it was provided to.
Ponzi schemes are based on investments that don’t exist. Early investors are paid some of the money provided by later investors until there are no new investors and the scheme ends. Typically, these are created by people offering high returns on money with low risks. The pyramid scheme often requests investors to find other investors and get them to invest as well. This keeps the scheme going for a longer period of time. Remember that when things seem too good to be true, they likely are.
Be wary of mass marketing scams where people attempt to convince you to invest in crypto currency. Again, these currencies are uncontrolled by governments and banks, and once money is deposited into another person’s digital wallet, the ability to return the funds or have a successful criminal investigation is very low.
Some tips to protect your money from these types of frauds are:
- Ask questions. If you weren’t satisfied with the answers, keep asking.
- Always be suspicious of high-pressure sales tactics.
- Investment decisions take time and consideration, don’t let someone rush you.
- Appearances and charisma are assistants to fraudsters. Pay attention to the situation and not as much as the person selling it.
- Always seek advice from professionals. Whether it be a lawyer, an accountant, or investment professionals.
- Never accept a verbal agreement; always get it in writing and keep it handy.
- Visit the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) Investor Alerts to stay up to date on the latest investor alerts and notices.
- To legally sell securities in Alberta, an individual must be registered with ASC (with very limited exceptions)
To protect against these common frauds, it is important to remain vigilant and NEVER provide personal or financial information over the phone.
To keep yourself in the loop about Fraud Prevention Month activities occurring provincially, follow the hashtag #FPM2024 on social media or visit the Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association website.
For more information about frauds and scams visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Media Contact:
A/Sgt Brent Bohrn
Medicine Hat Police Service
Community Support Unit
Ph: 403-458-0209