Today, I saw an article, claiming to be in the Toronto Star, that the Prime Minister was announcing a new digital currency. Given that the Bank of Canada would typically make this kind of announcement, it drew my attention. As I read the article, I quickly realized this was a fraudulent digital currency investment scheme based on the red flags I saw, but how could I be sure without proper due diligence?
Red Flags – What I Read
It started with the headline, “SPECIAL REPORT: Justin Trudeau has responded to US tariffs by announcing the launch of a federal investment program in digital currencies with full public access.” US tariffs would impact any digital currency, adding to its volatility. Since I knew the headline wasn’t true, it was a red flag.
The article reported the “Prime Minister” saying Canadians would not lose any money if they invested in digital currency. However, digital currency is very volatile, and some forms can be hard to sell. This means the returns cannot be guaranteed, which is a risk. Also, the “Prime Minister” states that there is an exclusive link to access the digital currency site. Exclusivity is a major red flag. It wouldn’t be exclusive if this investment were available to all Canadians.
Additionally, the piece stated that the “CBDC” backed the investment program. The CBDC is the abbreviation for central bank digital currency. It is not an agency that can back an investment program. The Bank of Canada is the authority that designs, issues and distributes Canadian currency.
The article claims that an investor could make a million dollars in less than a year. It also states that only a limited number of accounts will be free, and you need to sign up before February 24, 2025. The initial investment is $335. The promises of high returns for low investment and a fast deadline to get in on the deal—all red flags that pointed to an investment scheme.
Red Flags – My Due Diligence
The article identifies the woman interviewing Prime Minister Trudeau as Michelle Barton, a reporter for the Toronto Star. I ran a reverse image search on the image, free with Google. The picture is Rosemary Barton of the CBC interviewing the Prime Minister.
A couple of other things caught my attention. The article didn’t have a publication date; real media articles have one. The website URL was not the Toronto Star site; it was for a different website. When I Googled the company, several sites identified it as a scam.
I also Googled the definition of the CBDC and the Bank of Canada to make sure my understanding of the acronym and the Bank of Canada’s role was right.
Time Well Spent
On the surface, it may seem like I did a lot of work to determine whether this was a fraud scheme, but it took me less than ten minutes to run the reverse image search and the Google searches. The rest is information I have discussed before and will continue to share.
This quick investigation revealed several red flags: the promise of high returns for a low investment, the lack of publication date, and the use of an exclusive link. These are all clear indicators of an investment scheme.
Kathleen O’Donoghue, CFE
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