Residents and local investors are being cautioned of an increasingly common form of long-term investment fraud known as "pig butchering", that's already claimed millions of Saskatchewan dollars.
The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan reported that in Saskatchewan alone, more than $3.4 million was reported lost in 2024 to these types of scams.
With the month of March being Fraud Prevention Month, folks are encouraged to be aware and make careful investment decisions.
Dean Murrison, executive director of the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan's Securities Division, noted that people should watch out for red flags such as requests for large sums of money, unsolicited messages from strangers, pressure to borrow money, and opportunities that seem too-good-to-be-true.
"Pig butchering is a bit of an outrageous term we've been using to attract people's attention to this serious problem," said Murrison. "They'll contact you out of the blue to try to bring you into a conversation, they do this over a long period of time and as they talk to you, they figure out more about your needs, vulnerabilities, and wants."
He highlighted that these scammers will work to build relationships and trust so that they can maximize the amount that they're able to exploit.
"They'll say; I know you need money for retirement and I have this really good investment, because we're so close, you can come in on it as well," Murrison shared. "If you do, they'll keep asking for more money and eventually you might want to withdraw some of that money or not have anymore money to put in.
"In which case, they'll disappear with your money, and usually this money is gone out of Canada and it's almost impossible to ever collect."
People can protect themselves and their finances by being wary of strangers online, getting a second opinion, never sending money to unverified parties, understanding their investment, and never allowing unknown parties remote access to their computer.
Anyone who suspects they may have invested in a pig butchering scam or other scam is advised to contact the Securities Division at (306) 787 - 5936, get in touch with RCMP, or contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
To verify the registration status of an entity, head to the Canadian Securities Administrators' National Registration Search at aretheyregistered.ca.