Submitted by nsscadmin on
The losses to investment fraud continue to surge in Nova Scotia and throughout Canada. We’re talking millions of dollars lost last year and high value losses continue to be reported to the Nova Scotia Securities Commission (NSSC) through the first three months of 2025. Nova Scotia investors need to be alert and aware of the most persistent and common frauds targeting them. To help our enforcement staff have compiled their Top 3 fraud warnings of 2025.
- Pig Butchering
The NSSC has issued several alerts and warnings about pig butchering in the past. We’ve also published blog posts and a video on the subject. Despite these warnings and the media attention on pig butchering both locally and across Canada, we continue to get reports of Nova Scotia victims losing considerable amount of money to these scams.
For a full rundown of how a pig butchering scam typically operates please watch our video. When it comes to the basics, pig butchering fraud typically start with an unsolicited message in an attempt to develop a relationship with you. This could be a supposed wrong number text message, a message on a social media or messaging app, or a message through a dating app or website.
If they are able to hook you with their message, next they’ll attempt to build up familiarity and trust. Once trust is established, your new friend will present you with an opportunity to make tons of money investing in crypto assets. This investing will happen on an app or software they help you download and use. However, it is all fake. Your friend is fake. The app and software are fake. Any gains you make on your investment are fake. The only thing real is the money you will lose when everything is revealed.
- Unregistered entities targeting Canadians
Did you know to offer investing services and advice to Canadians you must be registered with the NSSC? We regularly add unregistered entities who are targeting Nova Scotians to our investor cautions list.
Unregistered entities target investors through email, online ads, social media accounts and posts, paid Google search ads, and fake media stories. They will offer guaranteed profits and high returns using their “sophisticated,” and “proprietary” software or platform. Or maybe they’ll place you with an investment expert who also guarantees high returns. This expert is also unregistered and breaking the law.
If you are interested in investing using an online platform or website here are some things you should check before depositing any money.
- Is it registered?
- Is it listed on the NSSC or CSA caution list?
- Does it have good online reviews?
- Forex investing
You can legally invest in Forex, which stands for foreign exchange market. However, it’s incredibly speculative and risky. Fraudulent Forex investing continues to be very prevalent and fraudsters continue to target Nova Scotians with promises of quick and easy money by investing. Fraudulent Forex investment opportunities are often advertised and promoted online though social media posts and ads, forums, and they also regularly publish in print publications as well. Almost all these ads are posted by fraudsters that will not invest your money and will instead disappear with it never to be seen again. Even if they claim to invest your money, they likely will not fully disclose the high risk of Forex investing or it will be a fake account with the appearance of trading which could lead you to losing your entire investment.
Some of the warning signs that a Forex investing opportunity may be fraudulent include:
· a guarantee of little or no risk and high investment returns;
· dealers or brokers that are not registered with provincial or territorial securities commissions, and typically are based outside of Canada where it is difficult or impossible to protect or retrieve funds;
· an unwillingness to discuss the past performance or track record of the specialist traders who will purportedly handle your money;
· an unwillingness to identify specialist traders or traders located in offshore jurisdictions who will purportedly handle your money; and
· high-pressure sales techniques to buy a Forex investment, to purchase software or take courses related to Forex trading.