Royal Canadian Mounted Police voices concerns about binary options scams

Maria Nikolova

Last year, there were 8,317 cases of fraud reported in Alberta RCMP jurisdictions from January to October.

Binary options fraud has been so omnipresent lately that police forces in a number of jurisdictions have added their voices to the chorus of concerns about this type of scams. Following warnings from the police in Singapore and the UK, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has also noted the rise in binary options fraud cases.

In an announcement published on Monday, the Alberta RCMP says that last year, there were 8,317 cases of fraud reported in Alberta RCMP jurisdictions from January to October, with binary options scam reports being on the rise lately. According to the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), Albertans who are defrauded by binary options scams suffer an average loss of more than $20,000.

Alberta saw a horrid case related to binary options fraud late last year, as 61-year old Fred Turbide of Edmonton committed a suicide in December 2016, following the loss of a heavy sum of money due to using the services of binary options platform 23traders.com.

The RCMP warning was issued on the day when the consultation on prohibition of binary options offering, advertising and selling closed in Alberta and Quebec. The aim of the proposed ban is to protect investors from becoming a victim of binary options fraud.

Whereas investors bear the brunt of binary options fraud, the industry seem to be reluctant to support a ban on binary options altogether. That was indicated by the responses received by Quebec’s financial regulator AMF to a proposal to ban binary options. For instance, the Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC), which represents 132 brokerage firms regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), has insisted that binary options are not the problem, per se, whereas fraudulent and unregulated businesses offering binary options are. IIAC proposed that instead of banning binary options, Quebec should allow IIROC regulated brokerage firms to offer binary options to investors.

The responses to the consultation on the proposed binary options ban in Alberta are yet to be known. In the meantime, the Alberta RCMP reminds investors that there are no registered binary options dealers in Alberta.

Read this next

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Achieves $9.9M: Aiming For A 5000-Fold ROI As Cardano’s Price Rises And Fantom Launches Sonic

Explore Cardano’s surge, Sonic’s efficiency, and why BlockDAG’s growth makes it the top crypto choice. A deep dive into the future of blockchain investments.

Digital Assets

US, UK probe $20 billion Tether transfers tied to Russian exchange.

U.S. and UK authorities are investigating the movement of $20 billion in the USD-pegged stablecoin tether (USDT) through Moscow-based exchange Garantex.

Digital Assets

BlockDAG Presale Raises $9.9M as Batch 5 Nears Sell-Out Amid Bonk’s Fluctuating Trading Volume & Spell’s Bullish Price

Explore BONK’s trading volume, SPELL’s market shifts, and why BlockDAG’s 10,000 ROI makes it an ideal crypto for savvy investors in 2024.

Digital Assets

Bybit expands into Europe amid regulatory scrutiny

Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange Bybit is expanding its operations in Europe after encountering regulatory challenges in Hong Kong.

Digital Assets

Cathie Wood’s sponsored Bitcoin ETF sees historic $200 million inflows

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), co-sponsored by Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, registered historic inflows exceeding $200 million on Wednesday, signaling a robust appetite among investors for Bitcoin-centric investments.

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

<