Police say scam artists are becoming ever more clever in their attempts to steal your money and even the most savvy investors are getting ripped-off when the economy is bad.

Experts say thieves are taking advantage of consumers who are desperate to get their money back.

"In fact they're adapting their pitches with promises to solve all of your financial problems," said Victor Hammill from the Competition Bureau. "You name it, they'll do it."

One popular scam involves loan documents. To the average person they look legit, but they're from a bogus company that wants you to send them cash before they send you a cent. But the money never shows up.

"We asks consumers and businesses to recognize your vulnerabilities," said Hammill.

Two in five Canadians say they have been approached by someone trying to rip them off, and most feel they're clever enough not fall for it.

"You know, I hate to say it; smart people get duped each and every day," said Andrew Poon of the BC Securities Commission.

Take someone like Bernie Madoff, the businessman accused of bilking investors out of $50 billion. Police say there are people just like him in British Columbia.

"Some of the individuals that he has or had as investors are not what I call simpletons," said Poon.

When it comes to your money, there are certain red flags to look out for:

  • Investments that promise insider information and expert information
  • Off-shore tax free investing
  • Affinity fraud -- the scheme all your friends seem to be doing.
  • High returns with no risk.

Another thing to be careful of is work from home scams.

One company wants you to test money-transfer services, like Western Union. They tell you to send your own money and promise to pay you back. But all you get is a bogus cheque.

Rebecca and Tyler nearly fell for a similar scheme, except alarm bells went off when they got a huge cheque before they did any work.

"The alarm was how much the money was for," said Tyler.

Law officials say if someone steal your money through a scam, the chances are you won't get it back.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's St. John Alexander