The American stock market has seen better days. Although it's certainly picked up steam lately, it doesn't seem to be enough for many investors and they're looking for quick money-makers. The problem with this is that now, scammers are aware of the high volume of people looking to bolster their portfolios and investor fraud is higher than almost ever before. Ponzi schemes, for example, are probably the most well known scams today, thanks in large part to Bernie Madoff and his web of fraud. Along with Ponzi schemes, however, there are a multitude of other scams that investors need to watch out for when looking for a place to put their money. Don't be taken advantage of! Check out the most common kinds of investment scams to look out for!
Senior Investment Fraud
Senior Citizens are unfortunately one of the most at-risk groups when it comes to investment fraud. Because investment rates are at record lows, health costs are higher than ever and people are expected to live longer than previous years, many con-artists attempt to target older individuals. Senior investment fraud can be broad enough to include everything from unregistered securities, charitable gift annuities, promissory notes, and even Ponzi scams. Just last year, in fact, investigators in Pennsylvania shut down a Ponzi scheme that stole over $2 million from the pensions and IRAs of seniors.
Unethical Stockbrokers
As the prices of shares fall, careful investors might notice that some brokers are cutting corners with their clients or even resorting to breaking the law outright. Because investors have had to become more and more cautious with the amount of fraud out there, some have scrutinized their statements and discovered that they've been being scammed the whole time. The financial adviser that the victim is supposed to have trusted could have been charging them bogus fees and bilking them for unexplained charges. Even if you're sure that your financial adviser would never steer you wrong, you should always be on the lookout for extra fees on your statements and continue to pay close attention.
Unlicensed Individuals Selling Securities
People who don't have the proper license to sell securities are scamming consumers all over the country. The con artists are using the promise of high commissions to entice independent insurance agents into selling investments that they don't know nearly enough about. The person in charge of the scam then tells the unlicensed sales team to promise their clients high returns with little or no risk. If you're thinking of investing with an independent agent, do your research! Have you moved lately? How did you go about finding movers? Hopefully, you took a look at our Nationwide Relocation Services reviews before the big day and found out a little bit about your moving company. You should do the same when deciding which agent to go with. Ask around and review the investment that's being offered with skepticism and caution.
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