别当投资骗局的受害者： 采访加拿大金融调查署CEO

Doug Melville，OBSI现任总裁。图片由National Post提供。

随着来自中国的新移民带来大量资产，他们对加拿大金融服务的需求也愈发强烈。但是随着新移民与财富管理行业的交道不断增多，他们和金融机构之间的纠纷也呈上升之势。

As newcomers from China have brought in a large amount of assets, they have a strong demand for financial services in Canada. But the growing interactions with the wealth management industry have also led to an increasing number of disputes between newcomers and financial institutions.

也许是投资策略完全不适合个人的财政状况，或是投资者在投资骗局中失去毕生积蓄。而当受害者的索赔要求遭到拒绝时，就会与金融机构产生纠纷。当争议双方陷入僵局时，他们就很可能来见梅尔维尔先生。

It could be that an investment strategy was completely inappropriate to your financial means, or that you’ve lost your life savings to an alleged investment scam.  But disputes with financial institutions arise when your requests for compensation are rejected. When two parties reach an impasse, they are likely to see Mr. Melville.

具有律师背景并拥有数十年金融服务行业经验的梅尔维尔是加拿大银行和投资调查署（OBSI）的负责人。对于那些认为自己遭到金融机构不公对待的消费者来说，梅尔维尔所监管的机构无疑是为他们争取权益提供了最后一个机会。该机构每年都会处理数百宗投诉，以维持公平的竞争环境和保护消费者免受公然虐待。

Trained as a lawyer and with decades of experience in financial services, Mr. Melville, the head of OBSI, has directed and supervised an agency that serves as the last resort for customers who believe they were wronged by financial institutions.  Resolving hundreds of complaints each year, the agency helps level the playing field and protects consumers from blatant abuse.

梅尔维尔与华人社区有着密切的个人关系。在他职业生涯之早期，他曾成为安省江苏省交流学者参与某中国大学的奖学金项目。此外，梅尔维尔家族中的许多亲戚也都是来自华人社区。

Mr. Melville has a strong personal connection with the Chinese community.  During his early years in his career journey, he had earned Ontario Jiangsu Scholar and attended a scholarship program in a Chinese university. Many of his extended family members are also from the Chinese community.

由于来自中国的新移民需要在加拿大适应新的金融环境，因此往往会面临许多困境挑战，而这些困境令梅尔维尔先生深感不安。因为华人移民通常都缺乏英语技能，并且不熟悉加拿大的金融和法律系统，因此他们更容易受到不良金融商业行为的损害，甚至会成为犯罪活动的受害者。

Newcomers from China face challenges as they adapt to the new financial environment in Canada, and these challenges have deeply concerned Mr. Melville. Chinese immigrants lack English language skills and are unfamiliar with the financial and legal systems in Canada, leaving them vulnerable to unethical financial practices or even criminal activities. 

梅尔维尔称：“我们看到许多华人移民通过抵押房产和贷款进行高额杠杆投资……我们也经常碰到投资者因为遭到明目张胆的欺诈而陷入财务困境的案例。”

 “We’ve seen Chinese people were put into heavily leveraged investments as they borrowed against their house and made loans…We’ve seen cases where people got into financial troubles as they fall victim to outright frauds,” Melville says.

杀熟欺诈案为受害者盲目信任朋友和亲属而受骗上当。与加拿大主流社区相比，少数族裔社区往往会出现更多杀熟欺诈受害者。由于对监管渠道缺乏信任，同时又过度信赖他人，许多新移民都可能成为金融诈骗的受害者。

Affinity fraud, where victims blindly trust the misrepresentations from friends and relatives, has drawn more victims from the ethnic communities compared to mainstream Canadians.  Lacking trust of regulatory channels but over-relying on personal relationships has put many newcomers at the risk of becoming victims of financial scams.

教会社区——杀熟欺诈的沃土

Church community –fertile soil for affinity fraud

捕食者很清楚应该去哪里寻找猎物。而信仰共融并且易建立人际网络的教会，则为无耻之徒提供了骗取新移民信任的大好机会。

Predators know where to find their prey. Church -- where faith is shared, and networks are established -- has provided great opportunities for unscrupulous individuals to tap into the trust of innocent newcomers.

梅尔维尔称：“在许多情况下，人们会在教会社区建立其第一个人际网络。新移民常常会天真地依赖其他教会成员为自己提供帮助，却殊不知对方却在忙不迭地为自己打算……骗子往往会通过背叛他人的信任赚个盆满钵满。”

“In many cases, people have their first networks established in the church community. Often, newcomers naively rely on other church members to take care of their interests, while the other person was busy looking after their own,” says Melville. “Fraudsters can get very rich by betraying other people’s trust.”

据CSA（加拿大证券管理会）信息，目前有越来越多华人姓氏的个人出现于加拿大管理机构的名单，这些人士为严重违规而被行业监管机构扫地出门。

According to the CSA (Canadian Securities Administrators), a growing number of individuals with a Chinese last name appear on the regulator’s list of being thrown out of the profession for foul play.

不断增长的华社受害者令梅尔维尔深感伤痛，他呼吁移民对欺诈行为提高警惕。

Saddened by the rising victims in the community, Mr. Melville calls for heightened alert against fraud.

梅尔维尔称：“对受害者的善后工作的确是我们工作中颇为令人心酸的部分。虽然人生在世贪念在所难免，但当有些事好得令人难以置信时，你就应该提高警惕。”

 “Dealing with the aftermath of victims is the sad part of our work. It really is,” said Melville. “While everyone suffers from greed at various times in their life, you should be careful when something is too good to be true.”

梅尔维尔最近宣布其即将离开OBSI，前往欧洲海峡群岛担任新专员。在启程之前，梅尔维尔向华人社区提出以下忠告：“不要成为受害者。如果你想要和社区里的一些人打交道，那是好事，但是你一定要确保这些人是来自属实的公司，并且有良好的社区服务记录。”

Melville recently announced that he is leaving OBSI for a new Ombudsman role for Channel Islands in Europe. Before his departure, Melville offered his advice to the Chinese community:  “Don’t be a victim. If you want to deal with people within the community, that is great.  But make sure that these are people from real firms, regulated with a good record of serving the community.

他同时称：“在英语里有句俗语：信任并予以核实。信任是好事，但千万不要盲目信任。任何时候你都应该清楚知道自己在和谁打交道。”

“There is an expression in English: Trust, but Verify. It is fine to trust but don’t trust blindly. Always know who you’re dealing with.”