The market has picked up steam lately, but for many investors the resurgence is not enough. Instead, they look for faster ways to strengthen their portfolios. The problem is that some highly profitable opportunities fiancees are downright fraud.
Ponzi scammers top the list of scammers who take hungry investors return to the cleaners, according to the latest trends in the investment industry by the American Association of Securities Administrators. A close second - scammers investment aimed at the elderly.
"These plans offer products and pitches that may sound tempting to many seniors who have seen their retirement accounts and income are reduced in recent years," says Ralph A. Lambiase, NASAA president and director of the Connecticut Division of Securities. "It is worth remembering that if an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it usually is."
The search for a safe investment vehicle is the common theme in all scams. Here are the top 10 this year, he held more or less in order of prevalence or severity:
- Ponzi schemes. This is an old scam named for Charles Ponzi, a swindler early 1900s that bilked $ 10 million from investors with the promise of 40 percent yields. His scam has been copied by countless criminals. The formula is simple: promise high returns to investors and use their money to pay previous investors.
According to the NASAA, the Ponzi schemers often blame government intervention for the failure of their system. In Mississippi last year, two swindlers Ponzi scheme guilty of 41 investors defrauded four states $ 10,200,000 declared. They told the investors who were participating in a money-trading program. The program never existed.
Senior Investment Fraud. Rates historically low investment, rising costs of health care and increased life expectancy of the elderly have set as targets for scammers selling investment fraud - such as Ponzi scams, unregistered securities, promissory notes, annuities on donations and viatical settlements. Last year, Pennsylvania securities regulators shut down a Ponzi scheme that bilked $ 2 million pension and IRA accounts seniors.
Notes. They are instruments of short-term debt often sold by independent insurance agents and issued by nonexistent or little-known companies. Usually they promise high yields upward of 15 percent per month, with little or no risk.
unscrupulous stockbrokers. As stock prices fall, some brokers to cut corners or resort to outright fraud, said state securities regulators. And investors have grown more cautious and examined their brokerage statements have discovered their financial advisor has been defrauding them through unexplained fees, unauthorized transactions or other irregularities.
Affinity fraud. Taking advantage of the tendency of people to trust others with whom they share similarities, scammers use religious or ethnic identity of their victims to gain their trust and then steal their savings. Techniques range from programs "giving" churches to forex scams.
unlicensed individuals, such as independent insurance agents, selling securities. From Washington state to Florida, scam artists use high commissions to entice independent insurance agents in the sale of investments may know little. The person running the scam instructs the unlicensed sales force to promise high returns with little or no risk.
This is the third year this entry has been in the top-10 list.
Investors approached by an independent agent should first call the state securities regulator and ask if the seller is licensed. Then ask if the investment offer has also been recorded. If the answers are yes, investors should be more comfortable about the product. But investors should review the product with the same healthy skepticism as they would with any investment opportunity.
Schemes "Prime bank". Scammers promise investors triple-digit returns through access to the investment portfolios of banks of the world's elite. The providers of these systems often target conspiracy theorists, with the promise of access to investment "secrets" used by the Rothschilds or Saudi royalty. In an effort to warn investors, the Fed said that they do not exist. But unfortunately, the government only complaint is fed into the conspiracy linked to this scam mentality.
Internet Fraud. According NASAA, Internet fraud has become a booming business. In November, federal, state, local and foreign agents by Internet scammers targeted during Operation Cyber Sweep. more than 125 thousand victims were identified with reserves estimated at more than $ 100 million and made 125 arrests losses.
"Internet has made it easy for a con artist to reach millions of potential victims at minimal cost," says Lambiase. "Many of the online scams regulators see today are merely new versions of schemes that have been fleecing investors offline for years."
Lambiase warns consumers to avoid the infamous Nigerian 419 scams, saying Internet users should ignore e-mails from people who need help who want to deposit money in bank accounts abroad.
"Do not be dot-conned" he says. "If you receive an e-mail to launch an offer that can not be beat, hit delete."
- Practices mutual fund business. Recent scandals funds have been national headlines and attracted the attention of investors and launched several investigations.
"These studies demonstrate a lack of fundamental fairness and a betrayal of the trust that hurts Main Street investors while creating special opportunities for certain shareholders and savvy investment funds privileged," says Lambiase. "We will continue to actively pursue investigations into irregularities in investment funds," he says.
- Variable Annuities. As sales of variable annuities have increased, they have also made complaints of investors - in particular the omission of disclosures about costly surrender charges and commissions pending sales. According to the NASAA, variable annuities often settled to seniors through investment seminars - but regulators say these products are unsuitable for many retirees. Lambiase says variable annuities make sense only for consumers who can afford to have their investment locked up for 10 years or more.
"Our fight against fraud never stops because each year con artists artists discover new ways to fleece the public," says Lambiase. "Unfortunately, many scams elderly continue to work to deceive the victims of their hard-earned savings and