As part of Fraud Awareness Month, the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has launched a number of new online resources to help investors avoid investment fraud and make informed and responsible investing decisions.

“Who’s Taking Care of Your Money?” is a new online learning tool designed to help investors explore key questions when considering an investment opportunity. The questions covered are:

> Who can I trust when it comes to my investments?

> How do I start the process of finding a financial adviser?

> What can I do to manage the relationship once I have a financial adviser?

As well, the ASC has an new brochure that educates the public on how boiler room scams work and how to avoid them.

Investors can also watch video interviews of other investors who were approached to invest in opportunities that seemed too good to be true, and find out what questions they asked to avoid an unsuitable investment.

“In tough economic times, people must be more careful than ever to take the time to research investment opportunities,” says ASC chairman Bill Rice. “The best protection is education and the ASC is offering resources to help investors do their homework and better recognize and avoid investment fraud.”

The new resources can be found on ASC’s website.