The British Columibai Securities Commission has launched its new investor education program, InvestRight.

The BCSC said that InvestRight has been created to help protect investors from fraud and to give them the tools they need to ask the right questions before making investment decisions.

“Investor education is becoming increasingly important because it is clear that no regulator will ever have the capacity to stop all fraud,” said BCSC chair Doug Hyndman, in a news release. “The results of the CSA Investor Index show the serious nature of this problem, and the need for regulators from across Canada to come together to give investors the tools they need to protect themselves.”

One of the key elements of the InvestRight program is a web site at www.InvestRight.org. The site will provide a wide range of tools to help investors develop “critical thinking” skills. Some of these tools include the “Scam Meter,” which allows investors to see if the investment they are considering shares any common traits with past scams. The site includes everything from background checks to information on investment products and videos in which victims impacted by fraud tell their personal stories.

As part of the InvestRight program, the commission is also launching a “red flags” communications campaign, designed to alert investors about some of the most common fraudulent sales pitches to watch out for. This will be highlighted in a series of educational seminars offered throughout the province by the BCSC and its campaign partners.

Brenda Leong, BCSC executive director, added, “As part of the Red Flag campaign, we will be stepping up our investor alerts to warn the public when we suspect there might be a problem. Frequently, we learn about instances of fraud too late and the money has disappeared. Our goal is to disrupt, stop and prevent fraud. We will be asking people to call us or fill in a complaint form on our website.”

The InvestRight program is being implemented in conjunction with campaign partners that include The Better Business Bureau (Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Interior), the B.C. Crime Prevention Association and the B.C. Hydro Power Pioneers, a B.C. Hydro retiree Senior’s Safety and Crime Prevention Wise Owl program.

The BCSC is also expanding its approach to affinity fraud — investment frauds that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the elderly or professional groups. In addition to God’s Fraud Squad, a successful program delivered in the Fraser Valley by two pastors, the commission has entered into a new partnership with the Mennonite Brethren Churches to reach 80% of its churches in year one.

The commission says that it is also committed to continuing to teach financial literacy to young people through its award winning Financial Life Skills program for Grade 10 students.

InvestRight is funded by the BCSC’s Education Fund, which receives revenue from administrative penalties and settlements imposed on market participants who violate securities regulations. Under the Securities Act, these monies “may be spent only for the purpose of educating securities market participants and members of the public about investing, financial matters or the operation or regulation of the securities markets.”