Imperial Trust Financial Requesting an Advance Payment Before Issuing a Loan

During an investigation recently conducted by FSCO, it came to the attention of FSCO that Imperial Trust Financial may have been involved in perpetrating a scam similar to what is commonly known as an Advance Fee Fraud (AFF). It appears that the entity used "Trust" in its name in an attempt to defraud consumers. However, it is not registered to carry on business as a loan and trust corporation.

According to a complaint received by FSCO, Imperial Trust Financial (Imperial) asked the complainant for an advance payment of $600 before issuing the complainant a loan. The investigation found that the entity is not known at the Toronto address it provided, 36 King Street, Suite 810, and one of the phone numbers that was given to the complainant had been cancelled because it was paid for by a fraudulent credit card. There was no physical address or phone number listed on Imperial’s website, and the only contact information available was an e-mail address. The website and phone numbers have been shut down.

FSCO has found that consumers who have been contacted by perpetrators of an AFF – often located off-shore – are being directed to deposit up-front fees with the fraudulent entities in Ontario in order to access funds promised by the perpetrators of the AFF.

The entity under investigation included:

Before providing funds to any entity, it is strongly recommended that consumers ensure both the entity contacting them and the entity to which they have been directed to send money are not operating fraudulently. In Ontario, all financial institutions including loan and trust companies, credit unions and caisses populaires must be licensed/registered with FSCO or with the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI). If an entity purports to be a financial institution operating in Ontario, consumers should ensure that its name appears on the list of licensed/registered financial institutions on the FSCO or OSFI websites.

For further information about this entity, please contact:

Phonebusters
Box 686
North Bay, ON
P1B 8J8
Website: www.phonebusters.com
Phone: (705) 495-8501
Toll free: 1-888-495-8501
Fax: 1-888-654-9426
E-mail: info@phonebusters.com
Advance Fee Fraud e-mail: wafl@phonebusters.com