Daily fraud update: 5th June

Local Canadian regulator warns traders against forex broker

A regional regulator in Canada has warned against the use of a forex brokerage which it claims does not have the appropriate permissions to trade.

The Manitoba Securities Commission, which covers the province of Manitoba in central Canada and contains the city of Winnipeg, said that IFC Markets was not registered to offer securities trading in the province.

In a statement, the regulator gave more details about the firm – including where it was based and what it was alleged to have done.

“IFC Markets and www.ifcmarkets.com are not (and never have been) registered in Manitoba to engage in the business of trading securities or advising anyone with respect to investing in, buying, or selling securities,” it alleged.

“IFC Markets claims to be operating in the British Virgin Islands and Malaysia,” it said.

And it also provided advice to traders who wanted to protect themselves against forex fraud or similar problems – encouraging them to visit a Canada-wide website to verify registration details before trading.

“Visit www.recognizeinvestmentfraud.ca to see other investor warnings and check the registration of any person or company offering securities in Manitoba,” it added.

It filed the statement under the “Investor Cautions” section of its website rather than the “Investor Alerts” section.

The Manitoba Securities Commission has been busy in recent weeks.

Last month it issued a warning after a claim from a local resident that he had been scammed out of over $550,000 in an offshore forex trading scheme.

And it has also issued a number of warnings regarding the relationship between fraud and the coronavirus crisis – and adverts put out by scammers to that effect.

“The ads state that traders can keep a large percentage of the profits, and they don’t need experience or a licence,” it said.

“…however, the firms demand payment of fees from would-be traders, and the MSC believes neither the firms nor fees are legitimate,” it added.

Unusual anti-fraud use planned for blockchain

An unusual use of anti-fraud blockchain technology has been announced by a firm in Norway.

Kvarøy Arctic, which farms for salmon, has announced it will join IBM’s Food Trust.

This offering from IBM is a blockchain-based supply chain software package designed specifically for the food sector.

Kvarøy Arctic supplies a range of eateries, and it also provides stock for North American branches of the store Whole Foods.

Once the firm starts using the new service its customers will be able to check on and verify where the salmon comes from using a QR code.

And customers will be able to find out much more about the supply chain, such as the state of the habitats the salmon came from.

The CEO of Kvarøy Arctic, Alf-Gøran Knutsen, gave more details about the move – which has been hailed as a step in fighting “food fraud”.

“Blockchain is the future when it comes to ending fraud in the seafood industry,” he said.

“The technology tracks a level of detail that helps us reduce food waste so we can feed more people in the world,” he added.

Chris Lee

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