Canadian Securities Administrators Drill Down on Trends in Investment Frauds

On June 27, 2024 the CSA commented on a national survey that sees an increase of 5 percentage points in fraud reports in the investment arena of since 2020. The CSA noted that how investors manage their investments has changed and Do it Yourself investing and reliance on social media has increased. According to the CSA, these reports align with the commissions’ increased investigations of online investor relations activities on behalf issuers. Investigations and prosecutions continue of promotional activities. For example under section 50(1)(c), 50(2) and 50(3) of the BC Securities Act, a person is prohibited from making statements in promotional materials that is false or misleading and that a reasonable investor would consider important in deciding to buy or sell shares. Currently the focus appears to be on cryptocurrency fraud.

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