Investor Alerts – How CIRO Helps Protect Investors From Fraud | Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization

It might go without saying, but securities activities in Canada are regulated.

For investors, that means any entity that is offering to sell investment products must be registered with a Canadian regulatory body whether through the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) or a provincial or territorial securities regulator. Investors can use available tools to search for registered firms, advisors and dealers to ensure they are working with legitimate companies who are held to high standards of ethics and conduct.

CIRO’s mandate to protect investors also involves disrupting and disabling fake entities, and one of the tools CIRO uses are Investor Alerts.

What is an Investor Alert?

CIRO issues Investor Alerts on its website and via social media to caution Canadian investors about potentially fraudulent activity by individuals or entities.

Fraudsters often create fake websites and email addresses that look almost identical to those of legitimate CIRO‑regulated firms. That’s why strong cyber literacy and good cybersecurity habits are essential for protecting your money.

Each provincial and territorial securities regulator in Canada issue investor alerts as well—and these are available on The Canadian Securities Administrators website.

If investors are contacted by an entity claiming to work in the investment or securities industry and something feels off--or too good to be true--they can search the name of the firm along with the words “investor alert” to see whether regulators have already flagged it. Taking this simple step can help disrupt fraud attempts and make use of the safeguards that are already in place.

Protect Yourself

CIRO has resources to help investors avoid fraud and protecting themselves from scams.

Think you may be the victim of a scam? Report fraud and cybercrime through the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.