New interactive investor tools available

by Natalie MacLellan on October 9, 2009

in Choose an Advisor, Fraud Prevention, Red Flags of Fraud

In the recently released CSA Investor Index 2009, 41% of Nova Scotians reported that they were approached with a possibly fraudulent investment. One out of four said they were approached five or more times with a potential investment fraud.

With fraud attempts so prevalent, how can you work to protect yourself? To start, you want to be familiar with the Red Flags of Fraud – five signs that an investment opportunity might be fraudulent or inappropriate.

To help investors become more familiar with the signs of fraud, and more comfortable in their investment decisions, my colleagues at the Alberta and BC securities commissions have combined forces to provide an online tool to help you learn how to protect your money.
The interactive tool entitled Investment Scams: How to Protect Your Money, focuses on some common methods that fraudsters use to approach potential victims – via friend and family or ‘affinity’, the Internet, seminars and advertisements. The online resource engages users with an opening quiz and testimonials to raise awareness of the ways fraudsters attract their victims. The testimonials are based on real cases depicting how people are drawn into scams.

The comprehensive tool provides information about how to recognize, research and prevent fraud. Offered as modules that can be easily accessed and shared, the resource provides investors with checklists and tips to help them evaluate and research investment opportunities for risks and potential fraud. As well, there are features within the resource to help investors directly email questions to a person offering them an investment and submit a complaint to the securities regulators.

To try it out for yourself, visit the site of either the Alberta or British Columbia Securities Commissions. Some of the information presented will be specific to those provinces. To see how the same might apply in Nova Scotia, contact me, or pose a question in the comments below.

Also available, from the Alberta Securities Commission, is a similar tool Who’s Taking Care of Your Money? This online course guides you through the process of choosing and working with a financial adviser. For both novices and experienced investors, it includes information on managing your relationship with your adviser, and how to file a complaint if needed.

Related posts:

  1. Investor Warning Been approached by Shire Investments, or any of the companies...
  2. Top 10 Investor Traps of 2009 The North American Securities Administrators Association has released their list...
  3. Recovery Room Schemes As if being victimized by investment fraud once was not...
  4. Canadian securities regulators caution against online investment fraud To kick-off Fraud Prevention Month in March, the Canadian Securities...
  5. Investment fraud on the Internet The Internet is a quick and easy way for scam...

Share & Bookmark This Story!

{ 0 comments… add one now }

Leave a Comment

You can use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

Previous post: National investor study released – How does Nova Scotia compare?

Next post: Commission fines companies $400,000