Contrary to popular beliefs, Security fraud is not a preserve of only the rich. Anyone, including you, is a potential victim of fraud. So, what are these types of security frauds that you should know? Read below to find out.
Types of Security Fraud
Topping the list is stock-middlemen. Stockbrokers are known to ill-advice their clients regarding their investment portfolio or by withholding crucial information to the detriment of the investor. Sometimes they connive and deduct unfair amounts of income from the investor’s profits and use flimsy excuses to justify their doings. Penny-stocks is another security fraud out to get your hard-earned cash. It involves scheming investors by selling them many shares of a hyped business opportunity at a lower price. Of course, the investments go south, and all duped investors lose their cash. Also, be on the look-out for institutional fraud. This type of fraud involves that institution very dear to you. What happens is that the organization, for some reason, plunges, but only a few investors are made aware. Since you’ll still get your shares, it’s hard to notice until the institution crumbles completely.
Are you a conspiracy theorist? If yes, watch out for this type of security fraud. Prime banks. Many conspiracy fanatics tend to believe that the rich have a secret formula when it comes to investments. They believe the rich have hidden investment opportunities as compared to the common man.
For this reason, they will buy the idea of access to prime banks and investment opportunities by becoming a privileged member. Because there’s no such thing as top banks, no sooner do they realize that they are fraud victims. This scam has probably hit you—affinity groups. Nowadays, fraudsters have become smarter. They’ve realized that typically, people are smart enough regarding their activities. So, because they can’t infiltrate your sixth sense, they use those close to you. It could be your best friend, partner, brother, and sometimes religious leaders. For most people, it’s hard to say NO to close friends, and in the process, you become recruited to a sham investment opportunity, and you lose your money.
Wrapping-up
Losing money to fraudsters can be very painful. Scammers do not only leave a dent in your bank accounts, but also disorient your life. The situation worsens if maybe the affected investors borrowed the money they lost to such dubious deals.
So how do you keep at bay? The first thing is knowing the types of security fraud. After that, always ensure you check with trusted institutions like your bank, a good securities fraud defense lawyer, or financial advisor before making any investment. With this, few steps plus your intuition, you will avoid getting into fraudsters traps.