How can I protect myself from these types of schemes?

Canadians should beware of arrangements promoted to them that make claims that sound too good to be true.

Claims that you can:

• withdraw money from your RRSP without paying tax;
• invest your RRSP to earn rates of return that greatly exceed current market rates; and
• receive non-taxable income from an offshore source;

will, in most circumstances, be found to be false.

Except for those individuals who are very familiar with the securities market, it is advisable that the investments choices in your RRSP be discussed with an independent third party, such as a lawyer or an accountant.

Always be very cautious of offers that seek to use your existing RRSP to access an investment product.

Related links

• Tax Alert

Date modified:

2015-12-03