Investments, Fraud and
The Dirty e-Mail

E-Mail boxes are filling up with more offers for opportunities than any other kind of unsolicited commercial email. That's a problem because many of these offers are scams.

Common themes of investment fraud pop up repeatedly over the years. The Internet has added to the mix, opening a new way to draw in the unwary and unquestioning, with little recourse left for them when money disappears down a scam drain.

Investment schemes promise outrageously high rates of return with no risk. One version seeks investors to help form an offshore bank. Others are vague about the nature of the investment, stressing the rates of return.

Many are Ponzi schemes, in which early investors are paid off with money contributed by later investors.

This makes the early investors believe that the system actually works, and encourages them to invest even more!

Promoters of fraudulent investments often operate a particular scam for a short time, quickly spend the money they take in, then close down before they can be detected.

There's an important question anyone should ask when offered an investment opportunity that sounds "too good to be true!"

Continue to the Next Page