Submitted by nsscadmin on
Nova Scotians have lost millions of dollars to crypto-related frauds in the past year. It is estimated that crypto-related fraud losses in North America during that time are more than a billion dollars. If you are interested in investing in crypto assets, or maybe you already are, there are questions you should ask yourself to help better protect your money and yourself from what is often a catastrophic, unrecoverable financial loss.
- Is the crypto asset trading website or platform I’m using registered with securities regulators?
If you answered no, you are taking a major risk and may lose all of your money. The majority of investors that lose money to crypto-related scams lost that money on an unregistered crypto trading platform website. Simply put, we as regulators have no idea who is operating unregistered crypto trading platforms. Are they legitimate? Is any of the trading and account information they’re showing you real? The answer is usually no. You can find an up-to-date list of registered crypto trading platforms on our website.
- Does the crypto trading website or platform I’m using, or intend to use, appear on the Nova Scotia Securities Commission (NSSC) or Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) investor cautions list?
If you answer yes to this question and still invest on the platform or website, you are at risk of losing all your money. If a platform or website appears on either of these caution lists, they are operating and soliciting investments from Nova Scotians without being registered. Not only is this a violation of securities laws, but it is also extremely dangerous to invest with them and to provide them with your personal and financial information.
- Did you find a crypto asset trading platform or website through a social media ad or through an unsolicited message?
Unregistered crypto trading platforms are reaching their victims through social media ads and accounts, as well as through unsolicited messages. These messages are being delivered by email, text message, social media, messaging apps, and dating apps and websites. Pig butchering frauds have cost Nova Scotians millions, and unsuspecting residents continue to be targeted daily through unsolicited messages. If you receive an unsolicited message that mentions crypto, or someone you have been messaging for weeks or months suddenly mentions a crypto investment opportunity you could be a target of fraudsters.
- How well do you understand crypto asset technology?
It may seem like it’s been around for awhile, but crypto asset technology is still relatively new. Bitcoin was only introduced in 2009, less than 20 years ago. Crypto assets and the technology behind it is highly complex and complicated for even the most tech savvy investor. Unfortunately, a lack of crypto asset knowledge and understanding has led to several investors being defrauded and taken advantage of.
- Why are you buying crypto assets?
We want to start off this section by saying that the NSSC in not for or against investors purchasing or investing in crypto assets. What we are against is crypto-related fraud. The reason behind a crypto purchase can sometimes lead to fraud. Buying crypto to speculate and to try and make a quick buck can often lead to more impulsive and unresearched decisions that lead to fraud. Be fully honest with yourself about why you're making this purchase and do so as safely as possible.