The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that the Canadian Securities Administrators' annual enforcement report highlighted a spike in investor warnings in March, as COVID-19 spread in Canada and economic anxiety set in for retail investors.
The Globe's Greg McArthur writes that CSA chairman Louis Morisset says: "The current situation is prone to fraud of all kinds. People, often elderly people, are more vulnerable and the number of fraudulent schemes that we are seeing, and [Canada Revenue Agency] is seeing are, unfortunately, extraordinary at the moment."
Mr. Morisset says it is important that regulators act pro-actively and target possible scams before investors fall "into the trap."
One example of such an alert is the case of Crestview Exploration, a penny stock that has been promoted through a pan-Canadian mail campaign launched in early April.
Six securities commissions have issued warnings to the public about a letter, labelled "Coronavirus affecting markets: Read now," that promotes Crestview as a safe-haven investment despite the company holding zero dollars in precious metals reserves. Crestview denies any involvement in the promotion.
Mr. Morisset sees more proceedings next year.
© 2024 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.