Investor Alert: Recognizing Senior Investment Fraud

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy recently issued an Investor Bulletin to identify when a senior has been a victim of investment fraud.

Identify whether it is investment fraud.

-High pressure sales tactics;

– Guaranteed returns or promises of high returns with little or no risk;

-Repeated investments or repeated requests from the same person(s) for investments or money;

-Sales persons who are not properly licensed (you can check through the search tool at Investor.gov);

– The investor has little or no understanding of what he or she invested in;

– No paperwork or written details of the investment;

-Sudden changes in account usage or spending habits, such as writing too many checks or checks that are in unusually large amounts or to non-U.S. persons.

Report the investment fraud.

-Contact your state securities regulator.

-Locate the up-to-date contact information on NASAA’s website, ServeOurSeniors.org/connect.

-Call FINRA’s Securities Helpline for Seniors: 844-57-HELPS (844-574-3577) available Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. ET.

– Contact the family, if appropriate, or a trusted contact person on the account.

Be alert for ongoing investment fraud.

-Be aware of repeat attempts of the same fraud. Often the same perpetrators target the victims again and again.

Use Investor.gov’s free online database  to search for investment professionals to confirm that they are registered with state or federal securities regulators. Alert the brokerage firm or investment adviser.

-Find out if there is a trusted contact person on the account you can talk with or try to get a trusted contact person on the account.

Additional Information

Investor.gov is the website for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA). The mission of the SEC, an independent federal regulatory agency, is to protect investors; maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets; and facilitate capital formation. OIEA is dedicated to serving the needs of the individual investor, including senior investors. Investor.gov is an educational website for the individual investor. FINRA’s Securities Helpline for Seniors: 844-57-HELPS (844-574-3577) is discussed on FINRA’s website at FINRA.org/investors/finra-securities-helpline-seniors.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is an independent, not-for-profit organization authorized by Congress to protect America’s investors by making sure the broker-dealer industry operates fairly and honestly. FINRA’s Securities Helpline for Seniors is a toll-free number for senior investors to get assistance from FINRA about issues with brokerage accounts and investments.

ServeOurSeniors.org is a website from North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) that is dedicated to providing resources for senior investors, caregivers, policymakers and the securities industry. NASAA is a voluntary association whose membership consists of 67 state, provincial, and territorial securities administrators in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, and Mexico. In the United States, NASAA is the voice of state securities agencies whose fundamental mission is protecting consumers who purchase securities or investment advice.

Free Consultation

The foregoing information, which is all publicly available, is being provided by The White Law Group.

The White Law Group, LLC is a national securities fraud, securities arbitration, investor protection, and securities regulation/compliance law firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Franklin, Tennessee. The firm represents investors throughout the country in claims against their brokerage firm.

For a free consultation with one of the firm’s securities attorneys, please call (888) 637-5510.

For more information on The White Law Group, visit www.WhiteSecuritiesLaw.com.