Investor Bulletin: 10 Things to Know About Receivers
Aug 27, 2015
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to help investors understand the role of receivers in SEC cases.
CategoryEnforcement
Updated Investor Alert: SEC Warns of Government Impersonators Demanding Money
Aug 5, 2015
SEC staff is issuing this updated Investor Alert because we are aware of fraudulent communications, including official looking documents such as bogus subpoenas, that purport to be from the Securities and Exchange Commission demanding money for fictitious securities law violations.
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: Fraudulent Stock Promotions
Jul 29, 2015
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about fraudsters who promote a stock to drive up the stock price and then sell their own shares at the inflated price, making money at investors’ expense.
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: Beware of Fantasy Stock Trading Websites Offering Real Returns
Jun 17, 2015
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about fantasy stock trading and other similar websites that may violate federal securities laws designed to protect investors from abuses in the swaps market.
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: Beware of False or Exaggerated Credentials
Jun 3, 2015
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors that fraudsters may misrepresent their backgrounds and experience to lure investors into investment schemes. Before investing, investors should verify that any person who tries to sell them an investment product or service is properly licensed or registered and should not make investment decisions based solely on assertions regarding the person’s credentials or professional experience, including claims found on the Internet or in traditional media sources.
CategoryEnforcement
Updated Investor Alert: SEC Warns of Government Impersonators
May 11, 2015
SEC staff is issuing this updated Investor Alert because we are aware of continuing fraudulent solicitations that purport to be affiliated with or sponsored by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: Automated Investment Tools
May 8, 2015
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) are issuing this alert to provide investors with a general overview of automated investment tools.
CategoryEnforcement
Updated Investor Alert: Beware of Companies Using the SEC Seal
Apr 3, 2015
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this updated Investor Alert to help investors identify fraudsters’ unauthorized use of the SEC seal as a way to convince prospective customers that a fraud, including an advance-fee loan scam, is legitimate.
CategoryEnforcement
Boletín del Inversionista: Proteger sus cuentas de corretaje en línea contra el fraude
Mar 2, 2015
La Office of Investor Education and Advocacy de la SEC publica este Boletín del Inversionista para ayudar a los inversionistas a proteger sus cuentas de corretaje en línea ante un posible fraude. Como sucede con todas las cuentas en la red, los inversionistas deben tomar precauciones para ayudar a garantizar que sus cuentas de corretaje en línea estén protegidas. Estos consejos de seguridad en línea pueden ser de utilidad.
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: “Prime Bank” Investments Are Scams
Feb 5, 2015
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about fraudulent investment schemes involving purportedly high-yield, risk-free international finance programs.
CategoryEnforcement
Boletín del inversionista y recomendaciones para el consumidor: Prepararse para situaciones de capacidad disminuida y enfermedades
Jan 6, 2015
La Office of Investor Education and Advocacy de la SEC y la Office for Oler Americans de la CFPB publican este boletín para que los inversionistas y los consumidores conozcan sobre el posible impacto de la capacidad disminuida en su habilidad para tomar decisiones financieras, y para animar a los inversionistas y los
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Bulletin: 15 Investment Tips for 2015
Jan 5, 2015
Whether you’re a first-time investor or have been investing for years, here are fifteen tips to help you make more informed financial decisions and avoid common investment scams in 2015.
CategoryEnforcement
Trading and Markets
Trading and Markets
Alerta al inversionista actualizada: Las redes sociales y la inversión: Cómo evitar fraudes
Dec 11, 2014
La Office of Investor Education and Advocacy de la SEC publica esta Alerta para el Inversionista para ayudarlos a tomar consciencia de los sistemas de inversión fraudulentos que podrían involucrar redes sociales. Los inversionistas minoristas de Estados Unidos están recurriendo cada vez más a las redes sociales, incluyendo Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn y otras redes en línea para obtener información sobre cómo invertir. Las redes sociales se han convertido en una herramienta clave para los inversionistas estadounidenses, ya sea para investigar acciones particulares, investigar…
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: Investment Scams Involving Ebola-Related Companies
Nov 20, 2014
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about investment scams involving companies that claim their products or services relate to Ebola.
CategoryEnforcement
Updated Investor Alert: Social Media and Investing - Avoiding Fraud
Nov 12, 2014
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help investors be better aware of fraudulent investment schemes that may involve social media. U.S. retail investors are increasingly turning to social media, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn and other online networks for information about investing. Whether it be for research on particular stocks, background information on a broker-dealer or investment adviser, guidance on an overall investing strategy, up-to-date news, or to simply discuss the markets with others, social media has become a…
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: Dormant Shell Companies – How to Protect Your Portfolio from Fraud
Oct 30, 2014
FINRA and the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy are issuing this alert to warn investors that some low-priced “penny” stocks that are aggressively promoted may in fact be stocks of dormant shell companies – companies that have no or nominal business operations or non-cash assets for an extended period of time. Many dormant shell companies that continue to trade in the over-the-counter (OTC) market are susceptible to market manipulation. This alert follows action by the SEC to suspend trading in 255 dormant shell companies in February 2014 and subsequent suspensions of other…
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Bulletin: SEC Investigations
Oct 22, 2014
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors with a general overview of how the SEC’s Division of Enforcement conducts investigations.
CategoryEnforcement
Private Placements under Regulation D – Updated Investor Bulletin
Sep 24, 2014
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to educate investors about investing in unregistered securities offerings, or private placements, under Regulation D of the Securities Act.
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: Be on the Lookout for Advance Fee Fraud
Sep 9, 2014
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help educate investors about advance fee fraud.
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: Be on the Lookout for Investment Scams Related to Hurricane Sandy
Sep 9, 2014
The SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help educate investors, including individuals who may receive lump sum payouts from insurance companies and others following Hurricane Sandy, about investment fraud.
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: 10 Red Flags That an Unregistered Offering May Be a Scam
Aug 4, 2014
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help investors identify potentially fraudulent unregistered offerings.
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Bulletin: Ten Things You Should Know About Investing
Jul 17, 2014
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Bulletin to provide investors basic information that may help them make informed financial decisions and avoid common scams.
CategoryEnforcement
Updated Investor Alert: SEC Warns of Fake Correspondence
Jul 11, 2014
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this updated Investor Alert to warn investors that fraudsters may use fake SEC correspondence as part of a scam to steal your money (including phony letters using the SEC seal and purporting to be signed by SEC Inspector General Carl Hoecker).
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: Affinity Fraud
Jun 18, 2014
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help educate investors about affinity fraud, a type of investment scam that preys upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities or the elderly.
CategoryEnforcement
Investor Alert: Investment Newsletters Used as Tools for Fraud
Jun 2, 2014
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help investors avoid fraudulent schemes that may be carried out through investment newsletters.
CategoryEnforcement