Did you recently receive an email from a Canuck regulator? Be careful, it could be a scam attempt.
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has issued a warning to registrants about fraudulent emails impersonating CSA's Chair and Alberta Securities Commission's CEO, Stan Magidson. The scam emails are believed to be malicious phishing attempts seeking confidential information.
Canadian Securities Regulators Warn of Email Scam Targeting Registrants
The CSA reported on 21 February that unknown individuals have been sending emails posing as Magidson to registrants across Canada. The emails appear aimed at tricking recipients into providing personal details and business information.
“The CSA is monitoring this matter. The spear phishing attempts are from outside parties. No CSA system was breached,” the CSA commented.
The CSA advises registrants to carefully scrutinize any unusual emails claiming to be from securities regulators. Specifically, recipients should check that the message comes from a legitimate email address and sender that can be verified. Registrants should also consider whether they were expecting the email, and if they know the claimed sender.
The CSA warned that any registrant who clicked links or opened attachments in a suspicious email should promptly change their password. Recipients who receive any dubious communications claiming to be from the CSA should report them to CSA-ACVM-Secretariat@acvm-csa.ca.
As the umbrella organization for Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators, the CSA works to harmonize regulation for capital markets across the country.
Scammers Impersonate Financial Regulators
It's not the first time, and likely not the last, that fraudsters have impersonated well-known financial market regulators to extract data and sensitive information. Just three weeks ago, Finance Magnates warned about individuals pretending to be from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority, contacting people with offers to help recover lost funds.
The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission has also been mimicked in the past, with its website being cloned in September last year and social media accounts in October.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has issued warnings about impersonators as well. These fraudsters use various communication methods, including phone calls, voicemails, emails, and letters, to alarm individuals about unauthorized transactions or suspicious activities in their bank or cryptocurrency accounts.
