{"id":10149,"date":"2023-08-08T14:00:03","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T14:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/investing\/can-you-spot-the-unusual-warning-signs-of-investment-fraud\/"},"modified":"2023-08-08T14:00:12","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T14:00:12","slug":"can-you-spot-the-unusual-warning-signs-of-investment-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149","title":{"rendered":"Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"hs_cos_wrapper_post_body\">\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\">Have you fallen victim to investment fraud? Today, more Americans have been educating themselves, but there are still plenty who have been enticed by scams. You know the ones that promise to double your investments almost overnight or make you exponentially richer in only a few short months. Don\u2019t be fooled by their deception. Since 2012, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has seen a\u00a0sixty percent increase in fraud complaints, and technology coupled with traditional pensions are going on a downward trend, which leaves the average American to manage their own financial assets. You\u2019re not alone in this. Below we\u2019ll define exactly what investment fraud is so you can identify it before it happens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><strong style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; color: #4481a1; text-align: justify; background-color: transparent;\">What is Investment Fraud?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify; background-color: transparent;\">An <\/span><strong style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify; background-color: transparent;\">investment fraud<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify; background-color: transparent;\">, also known as <\/span><strong style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify; background-color: transparent;\">securities fraud<\/strong><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify; background-color: transparent;\">, is defined by the FBI as the <\/span><em>\u201cillegal sale or purported sale of financial instruments.<\/em><em>\u201d<\/em><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify; background-color: transparent;\">\u00a0 This is when a criminal-minded individual has developed or organized a system that lures individuals to participate in schemes that offer \u201clow- or no- risk investments\u201d which are supposed to generate a high return and large profits.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\">Depending on your age, debt level, or just your desperation to make more money, somewhere there is an investment fraud scam targeting you. Some of these scams are affinity schemes, promissory notes, currency scams, investing in precious metals such as gold, and investment seminars, better known as the \u201cget rich quick\u201d schemes. The most well-known scams are the Ponzi, Pyramid, and Pump and Dump scheme. While they all have a unique fa\u00e7ade they share the same common goal&#8230; Rob you blind. So, what are these schemes exactly?<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\"><strong>The Ponzi Scheme<\/strong>&#8211; If you\u2019re familiar with Bernie Madoff, then you may be familiar with the pyramid scheme. Usually, clients are promised a high return with little to no risk. For this scheme to run smoothly, there must be a consistent influx of new clients so old investors can continue to get paid. Eventually, there are no more new investors to pull in and that\u2019s when the scheme usually comes to an end.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\"><strong>The Pyramid Scheme<\/strong>&#8211; A pyramid scheme starts with an initial recruiter who recruits someone to invest money. This is another version of a Ponzi scheme based on recruiting bonuses. Then that new investor has to recruit a certain amount of people to make a profit from their initial investment. This continues until there aren\u2019t any more individuals to recruit, and this usually ends like the Ponzi scam.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\"><strong>The Pump and Dump Scheme<\/strong>&#8211; The purpose of this scheme is to inflate the price of a stock based on inaccurate, deceptive or embellished statements. \u201cTraders\u201d will persuade investors to buy a specific \u201crising\u201d stock, one that they themselves may have helped to increase its price on the market. The unsuspecting investor will buy into &#8212; figuratively and literally \u2013 the stock and when the \u201ctrader\u201d thinks the stock has reached its peak, he will \u201cdump\u201d his shares for a large profit, which by that time it will be too late for the investor to sell.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;\"><strong>How Can You Spot an Investment Fraud Scheme?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\">Sometimes it\u2019s easy to spot these scams a mile away, but as scammers become savvier and technology is making it easier for them to target victims, the threat has risen. It\u2019s imperative to know when you\u2019re being scammed before it happens:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\"><strong style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #333333;\">Verify Their Credentials<\/strong><span style=\"background-color: transparent; color: #333333;\"> \u2013 All investment professionals must register with either FINRA, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or their state&#8217;s securities or insurance regulator. You can use the FINRA BrokerCheck to verify brokers and investors for free. While you may see positive customer testimonials, and what looks like a well-rounded website, don&#8217;t forget to read the small print.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\"><strong>Don\u2019t Chase \u201cPhantom Riches\u201d <\/strong>\u2014 If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. It\u2019s sad to say but if you\u2019re promised big profits and guaranteed returns, then it\u2019s most likely a scam. And as much as we would like to say we know what\u2019s going to happen with the market, that\u2019s just not how it works.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\"><strong>\u201cEveryone&#8217;s Doing It!\u201d <\/strong>\u2014 When you ask for credible reasons why an investment is viable and worth buying and they can\u2019t give you an answer, then it\u2019s probably a scam. This strategy is usually associated with affinity scams, which target members of like-minded groups and social circles. There\u2019s no need to jump on any bandwagons when it comes to your money.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\"><strong>Don\u2019t Be Rushed<\/strong>\u2014 Beware when they say this investment is available for a limited amount of time. Still do the proper due diligence and thoroughly research your options. This can be the difference between a great find and being duked.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\"><strong>Never Feel Obligated<\/strong>\u2014If you\u2019re given a freebie, don\u2019t feel like you have to make a decision or buy anything immediately. Scammers like to play on your guilt, but if you don\u2019t want to purchase anything, don\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: tahoma, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;\">When encountering investment opportunities, make sure you take your time, do your research, and don\u2019t be afraid to utilize your resources to ensure you are making the best choices to benefit you and your financial life.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>(function(d, s, id) {\n  var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n  if (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n  js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n  js.src = \"\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_GB\/all.js#xfbml=1&status=0\";\n  fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/>Read the full article <a href=\"https:\/\/moneynav.com\/blog\/investment-fraud\/can-you-spot-the-unusual-warning-signs?hsLang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you fallen victim to investment fraud? Today, more Americans have been educating themselves, but there are still plenty who have been enticed by scams. You know the ones that promise to double your investments almost overnight or make you exponentially richer in only a few short months. Don\u2019t be fooled by their deception. Since<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[32],"class_list":{"0":"post-10149","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-investing","8":"tag-featured"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud? | iSafeSpend<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Have you fallen victim to investment fraud? Today, more Americans have been educating themselves, but there are still plenty who have been enticed by\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud? | iSafeSpend\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you fallen victim to investment fraud? Today, more Americans have been educating themselves, but there are still plenty who have been enticed by\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"iSafeSpend\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-08-08T14:00:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-08-08T14:00:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/AdobeStock_135202472.jpegkeepProtocol-scaled.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"News Room\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"News Room\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf\"},\"headline\":\"Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-08T14:00:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-08T14:00:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149\"},\"wordCount\":879,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Featured\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Investing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149\",\"name\":\"Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud? | iSafeSpend\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-08-08T14:00:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-08-08T14:00:12+00:00\",\"description\":\"Have you fallen victim to investment fraud? Today, more Americans have been educating themselves, but there are still plenty who have been enticed by\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/\",\"name\":\"Solutions For Real\",\"description\":\"Latest Finance News and Updates\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Solutions For Real\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png\",\"width\":690,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"Solutions For Real\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf\",\"name\":\"News Room\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"News Room\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud? | iSafeSpend","description":"Have you fallen victim to investment fraud? Today, more Americans have been educating themselves, but there are still plenty who have been enticed by","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud? | iSafeSpend","og_description":"Have you fallen victim to investment fraud? Today, more Americans have been educating themselves, but there are still plenty who have been enticed by","og_url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149","og_site_name":"iSafeSpend","article_published_time":"2023-08-08T14:00:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-08-08T14:00:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/AdobeStock_135202472.jpegkeepProtocol-scaled.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"News Room","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"News Room","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149"},"author":{"name":"News Room","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf"},"headline":"Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud?","datePublished":"2023-08-08T14:00:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-08T14:00:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149"},"wordCount":879,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["Featured"],"articleSection":["Investing"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149","name":"Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud? | iSafeSpend","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-08-08T14:00:03+00:00","dateModified":"2023-08-08T14:00:12+00:00","description":"Have you fallen victim to investment fraud? Today, more Americans have been educating themselves, but there are still plenty who have been enticed by","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?p=10149#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can You Spot the Unusual Warning Signs of Investment Fraud?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/","name":"Solutions For Real","description":"Latest Finance News and Updates","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#organization","name":"Solutions For Real","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/sf-logo-1.png","width":690,"height":64,"caption":"Solutions For Real"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/5b8c1c75336efaf09b163cd1eab0c9bf","name":"News Room","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/avatar_user_1_1691264579-96x96.png","caption":"News Room"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/isafespend.com"],"url":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10151,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10149\/revisions\/10151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/isafespend.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}