Montreal – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) has been monitoring its systems for unusual activities after several registrants received e-mails that purport to come from CSA staff.

The CSA is also aware of similar fake e-mails that appear to come from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA) and other security regulators.

The e-mails are believed to be malicious “phishing” attempts by unknown individuals who are trying to obtain personal information or confidential business information. The CSA strongly urges anyone receiving an e-mail from the CSA, IIROC or MFDA to verify:

1. Is the message from a real CSA, IIROC or MFDA e-mail address?
2. Is the message from someone you know who works at one of these organizations?
3. Were you expecting this e-mail?

Should you receive a suspicious e-mail claiming to be from the CSA please contact us at CSA-ACVM-Secretariat@acvm-csa.ca, if you clicked a link, or you are concerned that your account(s) have been compromised, the CSA recommends you change your email and login passwords.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.