Crypto assets and online investment fraud in Quebec: what is regulated
A guaranteed 2 % a week does not exist. The problem is not the technology, it is unauthorised selling and fraud. How to check a seller, and what to do once money is gone.
A guaranteed 2 % a week does not exist. The problem is not the technology, it is unauthorised selling and fraud. How to check a seller, and what to do once money is gone.
Three warning signs
A guaranteed or regular return; pressure to deposit quickly because the offer closes tonight; and an adviser who contacted you first on social media. A registered dealer does not recruit through private messages.
What is regulated
Dealing in securities, including much of the activity linked to crypto assets, requires registration or a discretionary exemption. That means the first mandatory step is checking the seller's registration in the public register — and checking that the registered name matches the app, site and communications.
If the money is gone
Tell the bank or institution at once to try to recall or freeze the transfer, file a police report, and stop contact with the fraudster without warning them. Report to the AMF and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre; both feed the alert lists used to warn others. Keep wallet addresses, transaction hashes, communications and screenshots.
Protect yourself afterwards
Change passwords, enable two-factor authentication, check your credit files, and beware of "fund recovery" services: a second scam specifically targets the first scam's victims. Note that gains and losses must be reported according to the nature of the transaction, regardless of the platform's location.
Official sources
- Autorite des marches financiers — alerts and registration
- Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre
- Canadian Securities Administrators