Check before you send Ready

What we check 10 Sources 0 Sources that apply - Global warning network 130+ --:--:-- UTC

Check before you send. Know who you are dealing with before money leaves your account.Check a company before you send money .

Not sure about a company, broker, investment platform, auto dealer, lender, bank or crypto opportunity?4ormIQ checks public records and trusted sources, then shows you what we found, what we could not confirm, and where every answer came from.This shows you what is not good. Do your own diligence on what is good.

Sources Ready

Official sources

Government, regulator, court and official registry sources in the current set.

Direct data sources

Sources available through a documented API or structured data feed.

Sources checked 0 of 0 checked

Legend

Not checked yet
Checking now
Record found
Needs a closer look
Concerning record found
Checked, no record found
Does not apply
Not checked

Two yellow states mean two different things. A solid One yellow means we found something worth reviewing. Another hollow yellow means we checked the source and it had no record for this business. That is useful information, but it is not clearance. Green means an official source returned a record about this business and nothing in that record was concerning. It is one source, not a guarantee or a clean bill of health. Of the two dark states, does not apply means the source could not have held a relevant record, so it is not a gap. And not checked is a gap in what we know.

Print one page, or open every source, finding and unanswered check in full.

Every check runs against current sources. When you enter a name, website, email or wallet, 4ormIQ checks the available public sources at that time. If the check cannot finish, we tell you instead of guessing.

This is not financial advice. We do not recommend or endorse anyone. We show the evidence, the source and the date, and leave the decision with you.

4ormIQ helps people check before they send. Clearer information for the person. Better evidence for the decision.

Upload a document or screenshot When enabled, this can check whether the payment instructions match the company you think you are paying. This feature is not enabled in the current build.

Sources checked Current source set

What we check

What we check, and where the information comes from.

Open any check to see the public records and sources behind it, what each source can confirm, and what it cannot.

Before you send

Do these three things first.

Who to contact, what to say, and what to have ready

Your result

What checks out

These records support what the company says. That does not guarantee the company is safe or that nothing will go wrong. It means these details matched the official records we checked.

What we could not confirm

Your report · 4ormIQ

Your report

4orm Finance · Check before you send · · · · · · 4ormiq.com

Already sent money?

Start with these steps now. They are free, and you do not need a lawyer to begin.

02 Who to contact and what to send We show you who to contact and give you a copy of the public information we found to take with you.

Each copy includes the public information we found. You add your own personal details only when you choose to contact someone.

Start with the bank, card issuer or payment provider that moved the money. They are the ones that may be able to stop or dispute a payment. Your local police can investigate what happened. Other organizations may record the report, regulate the business, or act on misleading advertising.

03 Before you send money Simple checks you can do yourself before sending money.

4orm Finance · Check before you send · · · · · · 4ormiq.com

What to do next

You do not need to rush. These free checks can help you verify the business before you send money.

01Why checking matters

$704 million

Canadians reported losing more than $704 million to fraud in 2025.

Department of Finance Canada, National Anti-Fraud Strategy, discussion paper, 2026

5 to 10%

Only an estimated 5 to 10 per cent of fraud is ever reported. No complaints on record does not mean nobody has had trouble.

Department of Finance Canada, same paper

Registered

Anyone selling investments or giving investment advice in Canada has to be registered with the securities regulator in each province or territory where they do business. You can check this yourself in a few minutes.

Canadian Securities Administrators, Are they registered?

Watch for a second scam

If you have lost money once, fraudsters may come back offering to get it back. A legitimate authority will not ask you to pay a fee to recover lost money.

Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Recovery pitch

02Check it yourself

Start with the regulator. Use the national registration search, not a link the company sent you. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre recommends finding the official site yourself.
Make sure the names match. The legal name on the registration, the contract and the account receiving your money should match. A similar name is not enough.
Read reviews for patterns, not only ratings. The Competition Bureau suggests reading the two, three and four star reviews, because someone writing a fake review is more likely to give one star or five.
Look for the same issue appearing more than once. Positive reviews can be manipulated. What matters more is whether the same issue appears independently in different places over time. The same complaint, described by different people on unrelated sites over time, is more useful than a single rating. That is the pattern we look for too.
Look for signs reviews may not be genuine. Watch for a sudden burst of glowing reviews, brand-new reviewer profiles, nothing but five stars, or different reviewers using the same words.
Check consumer protection and fraud-warning sites. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, your province's consumer protection office and the Better Business Bureau all publish complaints and warnings.
Look at how established their online presence is. Check how old the accounts are, whether comments are turned off, and whether the same photos or people appear under other company names. A new account with a large following but little real conversation deserves a closer look.
Watch for pressure and unusual promises. Common warning signs include an offer you did not ask for, unusually high returns, pressure to act quickly, and demands to pay by cryptocurrency.
Ask for the details in writing. Ask: What is your full legal name? Which regulator are you registered with? What is your registration number? Then check the answers on the regulator’s own website.

03Already sent money?

See who to call first, what information to have ready, and which payment options may still be available.

4orm Finance · Check before you send · · 4ormiq.com

How we check information, what we trust, and where we draw the line.

This page explains exactly how 4ormIQ works and what a result does, and does not, mean.

Why we built 4ormIQ

We have worked with hundreds of people after they lost money to investment and trading scams.

Since 2020, we have personally worked with hundreds of people who lost money to cryptocurrency and retail trading scams. Some of those conversations were as recent as March 2026.

We kept seeing the same thing: people were checking after the money was gone. Important information was often already public, but spread across regulators, registries and websites most people would never know to search.

4ormIQ brings those checks together before you send money, while there is still time to ask questions. If we cannot confirm something, we say so. You should be able to see what the records confirm, what they do not, and what we could not check.

In their own words

Regulators themselves warn that their lists are not complete.

That is why a missing warning is never treated as proof that a company is safe.

Warning lists change over time. A company not listed today may still be unregistered, unknown to the regulator, or under review.

British Columbia Securities Commission On its own Investment Caution List bcsc.bc.ca

We add firms to this list as soon as possible. But if a firm is not on the list, it may still be unauthorised or be a scam.

The UK Financial Conduct Authority On its own Warning List of unauthorised firms fca.org.uk

Only 5% to 10% of frauds are reported.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre Quoted by Competition Bureau Canada, 6 March 2026, alongside over $704 million lost by Canadians to fraud in 2025 canada.ca

These statements come from the regulators’ own published guidance. That is why “nothing found” means only that the source had no entry when we checked, never that a company has been cleared.

How a result is built

Finding information and deciding what it means are two different steps.

We keep those steps separate so a missing check never looks like a clean result.

How we treat complaints

Several complaints can point to a real pattern, or simply to people having a bad experience for different reasons.

We show the pattern and the official record. We do not turn complaints alone into a verdict.

The limits we set

Four things we will not do.

Each one would make a result sound more certain than the evidence allows.

When we name a company

If we name a real company, we owe both the reader and the company accuracy and context.

Regulators have legal powers we do not. When 4ormIQ publishes information about a named company, we rely on sources we can show, distinguish facts from claims, and provide a way to challenge an error.

Important limits

What 4ormIQ is not, and why that matters.

Read this before acting on a result. We link to the official laws and sources so you can check them yourself.

The short version

4ormIQ is a research tool. It checks public records and shows you what they say.

It is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. We do not recommend or endorse any company. We show the evidence, name the source and date, and leave the decision with you.

A red result does not mean a law has been broken. It means we found an important warning or conflict in the records we checked. It is not an accusation or a legal finding of wrongdoing.

Green does not mean cleared. It means the sources we checked showed no warning or concerning record on that day. It is not certification or a guarantee, and missing information is never proof that nothing is wrong.

We do not hold your money and we do not take payment from companies we report on. No company can pay to change a result, remove an entry, or receive different treatment.

If a result about your business is wrong, tell us. Send us the source and the entry you believe is wrong. We will check it again. If the original source is wrong, only the body that published it can correct that source, and we will show you where to go.

These rules describe how 4ormIQ works today. They are not legal advice and do not create a lawyer-client relationship.

Our sources

Five levels of sources.

Official records can support a result on their own. Reviews and open-web information can add context, but they cannot create a red result by themselves.

Every report shows which sources applied to that business and which ones we could reach. We measure coverage only against sources that could actually hold a record for that business.

4orm Finance · Check before you send · · · · · 4ormiq.com

Compliance statement

What 4ormIQ does, what it does not do, and the rules we follow.

4orm Finance Alberta, Canada Applies to 4ormiq.com Last reviewed September 2026

01What 4ormIQ does

4ormIQ checks public records about a company and shows what those records say. We show which sources answered, which ones we could not reach, and the source and date beside each finding so you can check it yourself.

4ormIQ is free to use, has no user accounts, and does not take payment from companies it reports on.

02What 4ormIQ does not do

It is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. We do not recommend or endorse anyone, and a result is not a suggestion to deal, or not deal, with a company. We show third-party evidence and leave the decision with you.

A red result is not a finding that a law has been broken. It means the records we checked contain an important warning or conflict. It is not an accusation or a determination of wrongdoing.

Green does not mean cleared. It means the sources we checked showed no warning or concerning record on that day. Regulators say their own lists can be incomplete, so no record is never proof that nothing is wrong.

4ormIQ is not a consumer report or a background check on a person. Results are about businesses. They must not be used to decide someone’s eligibility for credit, housing, insurance or employment.

4ormIQ does not replace a regulated firm’s own legal or compliance duties. A 4ormIQ check is not a KYC, AML or independent compliance determination.

03The limits we set

No trust score

We do not combine everything into one score. We keep two questions separate: are we looking at the right business, and how much of the relevant public record could we actually check?

No invented information

We never create licence numbers, registry references, case numbers or filing dates. If a source did not publish it, we do not show it.

No person-level profiles

If a person’s name appears inside a company record, we remove the name from public outputs while keeping the company-level information.

A shared identifier is a fact. A shared operator is a conclusion.

If two businesses use the same wallet, address or document, we can report that connection. We do not claim who is behind it unless an official source says so.

We show what we could not check

Every source we could not reach is shown beside the ones we did. Coverage comes from the check log, not from an estimate.

Countries we do not cover yet

4ormIQ does not cover every country. If a business points to a country we do not yet cover, we say so and name the authority you can check yourself.

Nobody can pay to change a result

No company can pay to change a result, remove an entry, or receive more favourable treatment. We take no fee from companies we report on.

04The laws and rules behind this

Where we refer to a law, we link to the official text so you can read it yourself.

05If a result is about your business

Write to us with the source and the entry you believe is wrong. We will check it again. Anything we cannot support from the source is removed while we review it. If we still disagree, we can attach your response so readers see both sides.

If the original source is wrong, only the organization that published it can correct that source. We will point you to the right process. 4ormIQ does not keep old reports; each check runs fresh against the sources available that day.

We aim to reply within five working days and finish a re-check within 30 days.

06If you want us to stop showing information, rather than correct it

That is a different request and follows a separate process. Correcting a record and ceasing to report one are not the same thing, and Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, CQLR c. P-39.1, section 28.1, in force since 22 September 2023, gives a named person the right to require that we stop disseminating information about them, or de-index a link attached to their name.

Write to compliance@4ormiq.com with the subject line cessation request, the identifier that was checked, and why you believe continued publication causes harm. A named reviewer handles the request. We acknowledge the request within two working days and aim to answer within 30 days.

We apply the legal test in section 28.1: the seriousness of the harm to reputation or privacy, the public interest in the information, and whether stopping publication would go further than necessary. If we refuse, we explain which part of the test we relied on.

We keep a dated record of each request, the reviewer and the outcome.

07Contact us

Write to compliance@4ormiq.com. For personal-information questions, see the Privacy Notice for the contact route and the privacy regulators you can contact.

4orm Finance · Check before you send 4ormiq.com

Privacy notice

What we collect when you run a check, what we do not keep, and your choices.

4orm Finance Alberta, Canada Applies to 4ormiq.com Last reviewed September 2026

01The short version

There are no accounts and no login. We do not keep what you typed, and we do not keep your result. Every check runs fresh against the available sources. Your result is not stored for someone else to read later.

There is one limited exception, explained in section 04. If many different people check the same business name in a short period, we may record that business name by itself so we can tell a regulator that interest is rising. It is never linked to you or to anyone else who searched it.

We keep two separate kinds of technical records. One records how a check ran without naming the person or business. The other stores business identifiers found in public records, such as a domain, wallet or payment reference, so a future check can recognize when the same identifier appears under another business name. Neither record stores a natural person.

02What we record about a check

What type of identifier you used

For example: a company name, website, email address or wallet. We do not store the identifier itself in this log.

What the check was about

The sector you selected and where you said you were in the decision process.

How the check ended

Whether it completed, and how many sources answered, failed or did not apply. We do not store what those sources said in this log.

How long the check took

The duration of the check and which version of our rules applied.

A one-day anonymous visitor code

We create a one-way code from your network address and browser, mixed with a secret and shortened to twelve characters. It resets every day, so it cannot follow you from one day to the next and cannot be reversed back into your network address. If the secret is not configured, nothing is written.

Each log entry is linked to the one before it. If an old row were changed or removed, the chain would break. That is the only reason this log exists.

03What we keep about the business you checked

When a public record contains a business identifier, we may keep that identifier, for example a domain, nameserver, tracking code, wallet address, bank beneficiary reference or trading name, together with the source excerpt and link. We store the record, not a conclusion about who is behind it.

This lets a later check show that the same wallet, payment reference or other business identifier has appeared before under another business name.

The identifier you typed is stored only as a one-way code, which lets us recognize a repeat check without being able to recover what you typed. The limited surge exception in section 04 is the only case where a business name itself may also be written down.

We do not keep person-level profiles. Names of directors, officers, promoters, advisers or other people found in company records are blocked from this stored business-identifier record.

04When many people check the same business

A sudden rise in checks can matter because many people may be seeing the same promotion at the same time. We can see the pattern without seeing who searched.

So we count checks. Each check adds one to a total linked to a one-way code for the business identifier, not to you. For almost every check, that unreadable total is all that is stored.

Only after the total crosses a threshold set in advance, the business name may be written beside the count so we can tell a regulator which name is being checked unusually often. No user identity is attached to it.

We store only the business name and the count. We do not store who searched it, where they were, or when any one person searched it. The count is kept separately from the technical check log and cannot be joined back to a user.

A surge in searches is not a finding. A name can surge for many innocent reasons: news, advertising, an acquisition or coordinated attention. We may share the count and what the checks returned with a regulator, but we do not publish or sell the surge list.

A business name recorded this way is kept for 90 days from the most recent check that named it, then deleted unless it is removed sooner following a valid request.

05What we never keep, and how long we keep the rest

We do not store the identifier you searched in readable form, your result, or any person’s name. The system is designed to reject those fields rather than simply hide them later.

We do not sell data, run advertising, or track you across other websites.

Technical check record

12 months, then it is deleted.

Business identifiers from public records

24 months from the last time they were seen. An identifier not seen for two years is not useful evidence of a current operation.

Integrity log

Kept because it contains no business identifier, no person and no result. Its purpose is only to show if the technical log has been altered.

Deletion runs automatically and each deletion run is recorded.

06Where information is processed and who sees it

4ormIQ runs on infrastructure in Canada and the United States. When we query a third-party public source, that source receives the business identifier being searched, just as if you typed it into that source yourself. It does not receive information about you from 4ormIQ.

We do not share information with companies we report on and do not provide information for marketing. We disclose information only where required by law or court order.

07Your privacy rights

Under PIPEDA, and under applicable privacy laws in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia, you can ask what personal information we hold about you, ask for a correction, or complain about how it was handled. Write to privacy@4ormiq.com.

In most cases we expect the answer to be that we hold nothing linked to you personally. If that is the case, we will tell you plainly.

08Asking us to stop publishing information is different from asking us to correct it

Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector, CQLR c. P-39.1, section 28.1, in force since 22 September 2023, can allow a named person to require an enterprise to stop disseminating information about them or de-index a link attached to their name. That is different from a correction request.

The process, legal test, reviewer and 30-day response are explained in section 06 of the . Write to compliance@4ormiq.com with the subject line cessation request.

09If you think we got it wrong

Contact us first so we can review it. You can also complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, or the applicable provincial privacy commissioner in Quebec, Alberta or British Columbia. You do not need our permission to do that.

4orm Finance · Check before you send 4ormiq.com

Terms of use

What 4ormIQ is, what it is not, and what you agree to when you use a result.

4orm Finance Alberta, Canada Applies to 4ormiq.com Version 1.0 In force from 29 September 2026

01The short version

4ormIQ is a research tool. It is not advice. We check public records about a business and show you what they say, with the source and date beside each finding. We do not tell you whether to send money, and we do not recommend or endorse anyone.

You make the decision. Public records can be wrong, late or incomplete, and a source we could not check is not a clean result. Before sending money, confirm important details directly with the regulator and get licensed professional advice when appropriate.

Pressing I understand on a check means you have read and agree to these terms for that check. If you do not agree, do not rely on the result.

02What 4ormIQ is, and what it is not

It is not advice

4ormIQ does not provide financial, investment, legal, tax or insurance advice, and does not recommend whether you should deal with anyone.

It is not a regulator

We do not license, investigate or supervise businesses. If a result links to a regulator, the regulator’s own record is the authority.

It is not a guarantee

A green result does not mean 4ormIQ has certified a business or that your money is safe. It means the sources we checked showed no warning or concerning record on that day.

It is not a finding of wrongdoing

A red result means the records we checked contain an important warning or conflict. It is not a legal finding or an accusation against anyone.

03Where the information comes from

A result can use information from regulators, courts, company registries, warning lists, review platforms, domain records and other sources. We do not create those records and cannot change the original source. Public records can be outdated, wrong, or refer to a different business with a similar name.

We name and link every source so you can check it yourself. If a source could not be reached or was not checked, the result says so. Missing information is not proof. A business may be missing because it is new, uses another name, or has not yet appeared in the records we checked.

Some sources do not permit us to reproduce their wording. When that happens, we summarize the record and link to the original.

04How you may use a result

A result is for your own decision about a business. You may share it with your bank, card issuer, police, a regulator, lawyer, or someone helping you make the decision. You agree not to:

Do not republish it as a verdict

Do not present a result as proof that a business did something wrong. It is a dated summary of what the sources showed, not a legal conclusion.

Do not use it to harass or threaten anyone

Do not use a result to harass, threaten, shame or make improper demands of a business or person.

Do not use it to judge an individual

Do not use 4ormIQ to make decisions about hiring, lending, insurance or housing for a person. It is not built for that purpose.

Do not copy, scrape or overload the service

Do not run automated or bulk checks, bypass usage limits, copy the service, or access areas you were not given permission to use.

We may pause or refuse checks that break these rules.

05Our responsibility and limits

We will run a check as described, show the sources we used, and say what we could not check.

To the extent permitted by law, 4orm Finance is not responsible for losses caused by relying on a 4ormIQ result. That includes decisions to send or not send money, enter or not enter a deal, actions taken by a business you checked, errors in third-party records, and websites we link to but do not control.

4ormIQ is free and provided as-is. We do not promise that every result will be complete, available or suitable for every purpose.

Nothing in these terms removes a legal right that cannot be waived by agreement. We do not limit responsibility where the law does not allow us to, including for our own intentional or grossly negligent conduct.

06If you live in Quebec

The Quebec Consumer Protection Act gives you rights these terms cannot reduce. Nothing here removes rights that Quebec law says cannot be waived, including access to the courts and class actions where available.

07If a result is wrong about you or your business

Tell us. If we matched the wrong business or a source has changed, we will review the result. If you represent a business and want your response shown beside an entry, we provide a process for that in the . Write to compliance@4ormiq.com.

08Your privacy

There are no user accounts. We do not keep what you typed or store your result. The limited technical information we do keep, and why, is explained in the , which forms part of these terms.

09When these terms change

Each check uses the version of the terms shown when you press I understand, and that version is printed on the result. New terms apply only to checks made after they are published.

10Which law applies

These terms are governed by the laws of Alberta and the federal laws of Canada that apply there. If the consumer protection law of the province where you live gives you more protection, or lets you bring a claim in your own province, that law and those courts apply to you. There is no arbitration clause and no waiver of class actions in these terms.

If a court decides one part of these terms cannot be enforced, the rest still applies.

11Who we are

4ormIQ is operated by 4orm Finance in Calgary, Alberta. Questions about these terms can be sent through the contact information provided on this site. compliance@4ormiq.com.

4orm Finance · Check before you send 4ormiq.com