One in 25 Canadians have actually made a fraudulent investment, the pollsters determined, which means almost 900,000 Canadians have been the victims of financial fraud.
The Toronto Star
October 4, 2006
Fraud offers abound Study
Sharda Prashad
More than one-third of Canadian investors surveyed have been approached with fraudulent investment opportunities, usually by spam email, according to a new study conducted for the Canadian securities regulators.
One in 25 Canadians have actually made a fraudulent investment, the pollsters determined, which means almost 900,000 Canadians have been the victims of financial fraud.
And fraud artists were twice as successful at targeting investors experiencing a stressful life event. If the fraudster was a friend, financial adviser or other person trusted by the investor, she or he was also more likely to be successful. Seven out of 10 times, no money was recovered from the fraud. Two-thirds of these investors surveyed lost between $1,000 and $5,000.
The survey was prepared for the Canadian Securities Administrators, an umbrella group for provincial and territorial market regulators, by Innovative Research Group.
The poll involved online surveys in August of more than 5,000 Canadians, nearly 2,000 of whom lived in Ontario; and phone interviews with 2,000 Canadians. Online respondents were invited to participate in the survey, while telephone respondents were randomly selected.
Credit: Toronto Star
Brought to you by WikidFranchise.org
Risks: White-collar crime is widespread, Fraud, Sold during time of psychological vulnerability, especially unemployment, Trust, Canada: white-collar crime haven, Betrayal, 4 per cent of population have been fraud victims, Canada, 20061004 Fraud offers
