The regulatory body governing bankers and securities dealers is warning Canadians of an “emerging” scam called account intrusion.
“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,” the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization explained this week for Fraud Prevention Month.
The scam often involves requests to update passwords under the pretense that they may already have been compromised, or to have someone click on a link that can result in information being stolen from a person’s electronic device.
“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,” added McCoy.
The advice CIRO is giving is to: “Stop and think before you click!”
The organization conducted a survey that found half of investors report they were contacted about a possible investment fraud by e-mail, with the most common warning signs being suspicious contact information and Stranger texted, or spam text Stranger called over the 36% claims of guaranteed high returns.
