March: Fraud Prevention Month
The Alberta Securities Commission sent me a board game called Kajillionaire to play with a friend. Kajillionaire is a one-of-a-kind board game that immerses the players into the shady world of fraud. Players must navigate through a series of scams and fraudulent activities, essentially losing most or all their “life savings” that they start the game with.
Each player starts with $184,000 in life savings, which is the average amount Canadians save for retirement. Players then take turns rolling the dice and moving across the board, running into ‘unique’ and ‘can’t-miss’ investment opportunities! The winner is the player with the most money at the end of the game.
We had fun playing Kajillionaire – but were surprised at how realistic the situations we ran into playing were. Some don’t even seem like scams until you read them all the way through. From strangers scamming via the internet, to a teammate on a sports league that convinces you to invest in something and then disappears… fraud is all around us. The game Kajillionaire highlights the importance of investor education and helps to recognize the red flags of fraud.
The game of Kajillionaire is not available for sale. If it was, the price tag is $25,000! Crazy, right?! You know what is even crazier? The reason the game price was set this way is because 1 in 4 Albertans who report falling for fraud lose between $5,000 and $25,000 in a scam. The price tag of the game is to bring awareness to these alarming numbers.
You can play a physical version of the game (for a limited time) here in Edmonton at the Hexagon Board Game Cafe on Whyte Avenue.
Get more extensive info on the Kajillionaire game, the ASC, and protecting both yourself and your loved ones against fraud with a wide range of resources and information to help you to make wise investment decisions on the ASC website: www.checkfirst.ca
Kajillionaire is a fun game, but no one wins in the game of fraud.
This post was sponsored by the Alberta Securities Commission. The Alberta Securities Commission is responsible for administering Alberta’s securities laws. A vital part of the agency’s responsibility is educating Albertans about financial literacy and investment fraud.