March 28, 2024

Have you ever received investment advice on a dating platform? Some people fall for it.

To mark Fraud Prevention Month, the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) is encouraging Burnaby investors to “slow down and think” before investing to avoid becoming the victim of a social media-based fraud.

The BCSC said in a news release that it is growing “increasingly concerned” about sophisticated scams targeting people via social media and online dating sites. Fraudsters are using these platforms to manipulate people into establishing virtual friendships or romantic relationships and then requesting money for investment scams after building trust with the unwilling victim, said the BCSC. Although the specifics of each scam may vary, many of them involve crypto assets.

New research from the BCSC highlights the risk of social media-based frauds, showing that a significant portion of Canadians are getting investment information online, seeing investment promotions online and considering or purchasing investments they learn about online.

Thirty-three per cent get investing information from social media at least once per week, and 9 per cent purchased an investment in the past year that they learned about from social media, said the BCSC about a poll it conducted. Of those who recall seeing an online investment opportunity, 55 per cent said it was about crypto assets.

“You should always be extremely careful about unsolicited offers to invest on social…

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