Investor Alerts

SEC staff is issuing this updated Investor Alert because they have seen a recent surge of complaints about a scheme where fraudsters posing as SEC employees call potential victims on the telephone and purport to offer them a large sum of money (in some cases, the amount of $450,000 is used) in return for depositing a smaller amount (for example, $1,500) into a specified account. Some of these solicitations may use the name of a legitimate company and refer prospective investors to an operating website.

English Version

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government-impersonators.pdf

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English Version

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Self-Directed-IRAs.pdf

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American Sign Language Videocast of Investor Alert

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help educate investors, including individuals receiving lump sum payouts from the federal government in connection with the $3.4 billion Indian Trust Settlement, about potential investment frauds that target recipients of lump sum payouts.

English Version

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Cobell-Alert.pdf

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The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn you about investment scams that purport to offer investors the opportunity to buy pre-IPO shares of Facebook, Twitter, Groupon, or other popular companies. SEC staff is aware of a number of complaints and inquiries about these types of pre-IPO investment scams, which may be promoted on social media and Internet sites, by telephone, email, in person, or by other means.

Leveraged and Inverse ETFs: Specialized Products with Extra Risks for Buy-and-Hold Investors

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This Alert concerns a restitution fund established by the Securities Commission Malaysian (“Malaysian SC”) in a settlement involving various entities operating under the name “Swisscash”, including “Swiss Mutual Fund (1948),” and through websites encompassing variations on the names “Swisscash” and “SwissMutualFund.”

The SEC is warning investors about a website that falsely claims that $1.3 billion in Madoff money has been found in Malaysia and encourages individuals to submit information to verify that they are on a refund list. The website was created as a fake mirror image of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation’s (SIPC) website.

SEC staff is issuing this updated Investor Alert because they have seen a recent surge of complaints about a scheme where fraudsters posing as SEC employees call potential victims on the telephone and purport to offer them a large sum of money (in some cases, the amount of $450,000 is used) in return for depositing a smaller amount (for example, $1,500) into a specified account. Some of these solicitations may use the name of a legitimate company and refer prospective investors to an operating website.

English Version

Document Upload (english): 

government-impersonators.pdf

View Document: English (pdf)

English Version

Document Upload (english): 

Self-Directed-IRAs.pdf

View Document: English (pdf)

American Sign Language Videocast of Investor Alert

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help educate investors, including individuals receiving lump sum payouts from the federal government in connection with the $3.4 billion Indian Trust Settlement, about potential investment frauds that target recipients of lump sum payouts.

English Version

Document Upload (english): 

Cobell-Alert.pdf

View Document: English (pdf)

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn you about investment scams that purport to offer investors the opportunity to buy pre-IPO shares of Facebook, Twitter, Groupon, or other popular companies. SEC staff is aware of a number of complaints and inquiries about these types of pre-IPO investment scams, which may be promoted on social media and Internet sites, by telephone, email, in person, or by other means.

Leveraged and Inverse ETFs: Specialized Products with Extra Risks for Buy-and-Hold Investors

View Document: English

This Alert concerns a restitution fund established by the Securities Commission Malaysian (“Malaysian SC”) in a settlement involving various entities operating under the name “Swisscash”, including “Swiss Mutual Fund (1948),” and through websites encompassing variations on the names “Swisscash” and “SwissMutualFund.”

The SEC is warning investors about a website that falsely claims that $1.3 billion in Madoff money has been found in Malaysia and encourages individuals to submit information to verify that they are on a refund list. The website was created as a fake mirror image of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation’s (SIPC) website.