CIRO gives investors the tools to protect themselves from a recent pattern of scams
TORONTO, March 3, 2025 /CNW/ - Approximately one in five Canadians have been approached with a possible investment fraud, according to the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization's Investor Survey. During Fraud Prevention Month, CIRO is warning Canadians about an emerging scam known as account intrusions.
Account intrusions occur when criminals gain unauthorized access to online accounts through email, text messages, malicious links and apps. Once inside the investment account, fraudsters can execute trades and then transfer funds to their own (often untraceable and foreign) accounts or attempt to withdraw funds. These scams are sophisticated—involving urgent requests to update passwords under the pretense that they may already have been compromised or requests to click on links that are malicious. Making matters even worse, the fraudsters may impersonate real organizations' email addresses or website links.
CIRO's Fraud Prevention Month campaign aims to prevent account intrusions while arming investors with the tools to protect themselves. The Investor Survey also showed that of those who had been approached with possible investment fraud, most were contacted through unsolicited, spam emails, texts or calls from strangers, or messages on social media. The advice to investors is simple: "Stop and think before you click!"
"Through their gatekeeper obligations, dealers have assisted CIRO's Trade Review and Analysis Team in identifying an increase, or pattern, in these account intrusions," said Kevin McCoy, Senior Vice-President, Market Regulation, CIRO. "With the increased use of online DIY platforms and investors accessing their accounts on-the-fly on mobile devices, we felt it was important to flag this relatively sophisticated scam and provide meaningful tips for Canadian investors to help protect themselves."
CIRO's Office of the Investor Blueprint identifies fraud, scams and financial exploitation as a major theme and area of focus for the organization. Investment fraud and financial exploitation take a destructive toll on victims. While the financial cost to victims can be significant, the full impact often goes beyond lost money and includes stress, anxiety and depression.
CIRO's Office of the Investor team led the investor education and protection initiative through the production of a video, a cybersecurity checklist and the launch of a new series—Schemes, Scams and Swindles—providing fictionalized accounts based on real investor experiences with fraud and scams. The first story focusses on account intrusions and serves as a cautionary tale, bringing the experience to life for potential victims.
"Our Investor Survey also revealed that only 14% of those who were approached with a fraudulent scheme reported the incident. This campaign aims to educate investors and equip them with the knowledge and skills to identify account intrusion-type scams before they happen to them," said Karen McGuinness, Senior Vice-President, Finance, Investor and Member Relations.
Account Intrusions: Cybersecurity Checklist
The Account Intrusions: Cybersecurity Checklist gives Canadian investors quick tips and tricks for ensuring their online activities are safe and make it more difficult for would-be account intruders to access personal information and get into the investment account. The Checklist includes:
- Verify the legitimacy of emails by checking the sender's email address and texts by contacting the sender through an alternate, official channel.
- Verify links before you click them. Links can contain malware or viruses which will infect your device. If in doubt – always avoid. Hover over the link to see if the sender/website address matches what you expect.
- Always enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) for your investment accounts.
- Switch on your spam filter. This should prevent most spoofed emails from coming into your inbox.
Victim of an Account Intrusion?
If you believe you have been the victim of an account intrusion, contact your dealer immediately and report fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
About CIRO.
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) is the national self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers, mutual fund dealers and trading activity on Canada's debt and equity marketplaces. CIRO is committed to the protection of investors, providing efficient and consistent regulation, and building Canadians' trust in financial regulation and the people managing their investments. For more information, visit www.ciro.ca.
SOURCE Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO)
Interested in using the associated video, but need it in another format?; Media Contact: Kate Morris, Senior Specialist Corporate Communications and Public Affaires, [email protected]
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