Case Study: Alberta Securities Commission achieves massive investor-fraud awareness and national media coverage with Cision's Multichannel News Release

Preventing Investment Fraud with the 'Perfect Scam'

The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC), the province’s securities regulator charged with protecting investors, wanted a more impactful Fraud Prevention Month campaign to help Albertans recognize investment scams. Facing the challenge that scam artists are highly persuasive, the ASC aimed to create a memorable educational moment that would drive people to its investor‑education site, CheckFirst.ca.

The ASC staged a fake real‑estate investment seminar complete with a fictitious firm and planted “red flags,” then revealed the sting on camera and edited the footage into an educational video. The campaign was promoted via a Multichannel News Release and national newswire, generating nearly 6 million ad impressions and over 8,500 ad clicks, national and international media coverage (including CBC, Financial Post and Bloomberg), hundreds of views of multimedia assets, multiple interview requests, social shares, and a measurable spike in traffic to CheckFirst.ca.

Alberta Securities Commission

Nicole Tuncay

Senior Communications Advisor