New research from the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) suggests that, among those over 50, one in eight is highly susceptible to investment fraud.
The BCSC released the results of research Tuesday, which found that a substantial proportion of investors admit interest in a clearly unrealistic investment scenario, indicating that they would be vulnerable to fraud.
In a BCSC survey, presented with an investment opportunity that guaranteed 14% to 25% in monthly return with no risk, 10% of those surveyed said that they would either look into it further, and another 3% said they weren’t sure.
Additionally, the research found that less than half of those surveyed (44%) have a reasonable expectation of annual returns on investments.
Thirty-seven per cent said that they are afraid of running out of money during retirement, although this proportion is significantly higher among those vulnerable to fraud (49%), and those who have been past victims of fraud (47%), the BCSC reports.
“Our survey results show that what investors think, feel, and do matters when it comes to investment fraud vulnerability,” said chair and CEO of the BCSC, Brenda Leong. “This means thinking about investments the right way, feeling confident and financially secure, and taking steps to avoid risky situations.”
The research, which was carried out by Innovative Research Group on behalf of the BCSC, surveyed 800 British Columbians aged 50 and over. It has an estimated margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.