Warning about new e-fraud
- Details
- Published on Friday, April 8, 2016
Media Release
Every year Manitoba residents fall victim to fraud. Most people don’t think it could happen to them, but fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated methods to target citizens of all ages across the province and country.
RCMP and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) have been warning Canadians about an ongoing scam in which taxpayers across the country receive phone calls or emails from individuals impersonating CRA employees. These people are scammers. The scammers tell taxpayers they either owe money to CRA or have a tax refund. Taxpayers are threatened with arrest or jail time if they do not take immediate action and provide money or personal or financial information.
When actual CRA employees call taxpayers, they follow established procedures to ensure personal information is protected. To confirm the authenticity of a call, contact the CRA by using its official telephone number for individual tax enquiries: 1-800-959-8281. You can also verify your individual tax account through a secure CRA portal.
If you believe you may be the victim of fraud or have given personal or financial information in error, contact your local police service and your financial institution.
Manitoba Securities Commission (MSC) is cautioning investors about onetwotrade.com, a trading website operated by Up and Down Marketing Ltd., purportedly located in the country of Malta. Investors should be aware that onetwotrade.com and Up and Down Marketing Ltd. are not registered to sell securities in Manitoba and that their actions are not in compliance with provincial securities laws. There are currently no binary option firms registered to do business in Manitoba.
“We were recently advised that at least one Manitoba resident has responded to an online advertisement encouraging him to invest in binary options via an online trading platform,” says Jason Roy, MSC senior investigator. “This person invested approximately $100,000 and used a credit card to fund a portion of his account. It is unlikely he will be able to get his money back. In addition, he may be subject to the higher interest rates charged by his credit card company.”
Another MSC case involves an 81-year-old widow and IseeBinary.com purportedly located in the country of Moldova. She invested $28,000 to a bank account in the name of Option Ventures in Moldova to be settled at a bank in Romania. Investors should be aware that IseeBinary.com and Option Ventures are not registered to sell securities in Manitoba and that their actions are not in compliance with provincial securities laws.
Binary options are a sort of “wager” where investors bet on the performance of an underlying asset, often a currency, stock index or share, usually in a short period of time. When that period is up, the investor receives a predetermined payout or loses his wager. It’s an “all or nothing” proposition.
With some of these offshore investments, no actual trading takes place and it is just a tactic used to steal an investor’s money. A request to send your money offshore to an unregistered firm is a red flag for investment fraud.
MSC advises all investors to keep the following tips in mind to prevent becoming a victim of investment fraud:
· Never send money to anyone you only know from an unsolicited phone call or e-mail
· Never give out sensitive personal information online or over the phone
· Research an investment before making a commitment
· Make sure the firm and individual you are dealing with are registered in Manitoba by checking their registration status at recognizeinvestmentfraud.com
Investors who believe they have been approached by an unregistered individual or firm are encouraged to contact MSC immediately at 1-855-FRAUD-MB to file a complaint or speak with an investigator.
MSC is a division of Manitoba Financial Services Agency, a special operating agency of the government of Manitoba that protects investors and promotes fair and efficient capital markets throughout the province.
