The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) continues to add companies to its Investment Caution List, which includes the names of unregistered brokers unlawfully targeting British Columbia investors or falsely claiming to be associated with the Canadian province.
The latest addition to the Investment Caution List is Central Option, a binary options broker offering its services via www.centraloption.com. The broker is operated by Central Provider Ltd., which claims to have offices in London, England, Hong Kong, China, and Toronto, Ontario.
The regulator recently became aware that Central Option was soliciting BC residents to open an account with Central Option. The BCSC notes that Central Option and Central Provider Ltd are not registered to trade in, or advise on, securities or exchange contracts in British Columbia.
March is fraud prevention month in Canada. Earlier this month, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), the council of the 10 provincial and three territorial securities regulators in Canada, reiterated the risks associated with binary options as trading instruments and warned of the dangers associated with using the services of unregistered binary options providers.
For the full warning against Central Option, click here.