| | | | |

Enforcement

West Virginians are investing more into securities than ever before. For the first time, investments outweigh bank deposits. We are investing into the stock market and other securities faster than ever. The challenge for new investors is separating the legitimate investments from the fraudulent business scheme; a swindle; a scam.

Dishonest sales persons are calling with proposals for investing in everything from motion pictures to worm farms ~ and are finding investors! It may seem bizarre that there are actually victims of these "tips" or "secret markets", but even the smallest investment seems to snowball until investors find themselves with a life's savings involved and no way out of what was guaranteed to them as a "safe investment that will double or triple your money in a short time."

These crooks may also put up money for radio and television advertisements. Sometimes, at the end of a sales pitch you may hear a quickly spoken disclaimer like: "Some investors can and do lose money." or "Past performance is not indicative of future results." These disclaimers are a good warning and should be heeded. The disclaimer may have unequal weight in the advertisement, but it nonetheless warns potential investors and discloses risk.

Not only could an investor lose all the money involved in a fraudulent scheme, but if investors chose to borrow money and an investment falls through, the victim can lose the cash they invested and be obligated to repay the money borrowed. Crooks have no problem with taking your life's savings!

Investigate Before You Invest

The Central Registration Depository [CRD], is a computer database containing the licensing and disciplinary histories on nearly 600,000 securities professionals and 5,600 securities firms.

The CRD, established in the early 1980's, is jointly owned by North American Securities Administrators Association [NASAA] and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority [FINRA].

Disciplinary information in the CRD system includes customer complaints, arbitrations and actions by state, industry and federal regulators and law enforcement agencies. The majority of brokers are honest, ethical professionals, but investors should always check with state or industry regulators before investing. Investors should also check a broker's education and work history.

To check the CRD record of a broker or firm, or if you have any questions, contact the West Virginia Securities Commission at 304.558.2257.

When speaking with a securities salesperson or adviser, be sure to record details of the recommendations received and the instructions given. Be sure to keep the notes in your files.

You may call the National Association of Securities Dealers' toll-free disclosure hotline at 800.289.9999. You can also request a broker's record online at www.finra.org.

Before investing ask for written disclosure of documents. These documents should show who the sponsor of the investment is, all the principal members of the organization, the organization's track record, the details of what your obligations are and the organization's business plan and financial statement (a balance sheet, preferably audited).

If an investment offer sounds "too good to be true" it probably is. Call us at 888.368.9507 and ask if the offering is registered and if any enforcement record can be provided.

If you have any questions, contact For further information, please contact the West Virginia Securities Commission at 304.558.2257

Disclaimer

The West Virginia Securities Commission uses links to other Web sites for the convenience of the user. Whenever you click on links provided, you are leaving the West Virginia Securities Commission and entering an external site. The Security Commission cannot attest to the accuracy of the information provided by the external linked sites, nor does the Securities Commission endorse any products or information obtained from these external sites.