There's been a shift towards people investing in stocks on their own, with some stocks seeing massive swings between profits and losses for investors in recent months.

But the Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority (FCAA) is urging potential traders to use due dilligence when considering purchases.

The Saskatchewan financial consumer and marketplace regulator recently warned investors to watch for cryptocurrency scams. Now they're cautioning people about artificially-inflated stock prices that could cost investors to lose a lot of money.

"Individuals illegally use hype and misleading information to take advantage of investors and manipulate the price of shares," stated a release. "Typically, an individual behind a scheme will purchase a large number of shares in a company that has lower trading volume and generally a lower price.  They are often referred to as penny stocks.  The individuals use unscrupulous means such as false information and exaggerated statements to manipulate the price and drive the share price up."

When the share price hits a much higher value, that individual sells all their shares and disappears. 

"The hype about the shares will then stop and trading will be minimal which will cause the share price to drastically fall. Investors that purchased shares during the price spike will then be left with shares that are worth substantially less than what they originally paid."

The FCAA suggests watching out for press releases, chat room discussions, and promotional material such as blogs, as they typically highlight only positive information and don't discuss the risks. The FCAA also says paid promoters are used to flood social media platforms and create a buzz about a stock. The regulator suggest knowing exactly what you're investing in, how the investment service works, and getting a second opinion as well as professional advice before investing.