What is it?
A CSA impersonation scam is a type of fraud where fraudsters pretend to represent the CSA or its member regulators to deceive investors. These scams often involve:
- Misusing the CSA’s official website, design and logos to create convincing fake pages
- Using domain names that closely resemble the CSA’s official URL to deceive investors
- Issuing fake documentation like contracts, invoices, receipts which can include QR codes that redirect investors to these fraudulent websites
Reminder that the CSA and its members cannot:
- Provide legal, investment or financial advice or counselling
- Reverse transactions, commissions, or fees
- Request or approve money or cryptocurrency transfers
- Negotiate a settlement or claim on your behalf
- Promote investment schemes or recovery services
- Send unsolicited messages asking for personal or financial information
- Comment on the details of any ongoing local investigation
What do to do:
Anyone who receives a communication that they find suspicious, and that appears to be from staff at the CSA or of a CSA member, should contact their local securities regulator directly to verify whether the message is genuine.
Investors should not reply to the suspicious communication directly or rely on contact information included in the communication. Instead, they should refer to the official contact list for CSA members on the CSA website.
Who to contact?
If you receive a suspicious email or phone call claiming to be from the CSA or one of its members, we urge you to contact your local securities regulator: (contact us) You can also write to the CSA secretariat csa-acvm-secretariat@acvm-csa.ca