The New Self-Regulatory Organization of Canada (New SRO) is repeating an earlier call made by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) to investors to be wary about impersonation schemes in the industry. This time, the regulator is encouraging those it regulates that fraudsters are currently working to impersonate the former Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
They say fraudulent arbitration communications have been sent to possible victims to request personal or financial information, or to encourage recipients to click phishing links. “New SRO will never ask you for a copy of your passport, ID card, bitcoin wallet address, or for any funds,” they write. “Always independently verify that the person calling or emailing you is the person they claim to be. Often the name given is a real individual’s name, and the fraud is only revealed by a bogus email domain or phone number. Do not rely on unsolicited information. Do your own research online and contact the individual and the organization directly to confirm it was them who contacted you.”
The warning, issued May 29, follows a similar warning issued earlier the same month by the CSA and member securities regulators, warning investors not to be fooled by fraudsters impersonating real investment advisors. “Recently, New SRO has noted a spike in impersonation schemes,” they state.
