Are You at Risk for Investment Fraud?

Investment fraud schemes cost Americans tens of billions of dollars a year. AARP has identified eight risk factors that predict who is most likely to be defrauded.

What you should know:

While no one factor causes someone to be scammed, our research found that these eight factors raise one’s risk of being defrauded:

1. Male gender
2. High annual trading frequency (five or more a year)
3. Frequent solicitations by phone, email, and regular mail
4. Frequent remote investing in response to TV, email, or phone calls
5. A mindset that wealth is an important measure of success in life
6. A mindset that unregulated investments are more profitable
7. A world view that is described as conservative
8. Older age

What you should do to avoid investment fraud:

• Only invest with registered advisors and investments
• Put yourself on the Do Not Call registry.
• Get a telephone call blocking system to screen out potential scammers
• Limit the amount of personal information you give to sales people until you verify their credentials
• Don’t make an investment decision based on a TV ad, a phone call or an email
• Don’t make any investment decisions under stress
• Take AARP’s Investment Fraud Vulnerability Quiz to find out if you are at risk

Please share this alert with friends and family!

To find more information on investing in Kansas or to file a complaint on investment fraud, please contact the Office of Kansas Securities Commissioner Josh Ney here.