The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about phony Certificates of Deposit (CDs) promoted through internet advertising and “spoofed” websites – websites that mimic the actual sites of legitimate financial institutions. Investors should be extremely cautious when purchasing CDs from sites found only through internet searches.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are issuing this Investor Bulletin to highlight key messages from World Investor Week 2019, a global campaign to raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection. From October 1-7, 2019, investors, investment professionals, teachers, parents, researchers, and others are encouraged to make a special effort to promote investor education. Here are a few key messages for Main Street investors.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Retail Strategy Task Force (RSTF) urge investors to look for red flags of fraud before paying for investments by credit card or wire transfer.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and Retail Strategy Task Force (RSTF) want Main Street investors to be aware of tactics fraudsters use to lure investors into scams. This Alert presents actual videos that defendants in SEC enforcement actions allegedly used as part of their investment frauds.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors that fraudsters sometimes pose as SEC employees. Do not send money, or personal information, to anyone claiming to be from the SEC without verifying their identity using the steps described in this Alert.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) warns investors not to fall for investment scams claiming to help charitable causes. Supporting a good cause while investing your money may sound like a win-win situation. But be aware that fraudsters may try to exploit your desire to help others by using charitable causes as a way to draw victims into investment scams.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and the Division of Enforcement’s Retail Strategy Task Force warn investors not to make investment decisions based solely on common ties with someone recommending or selling the investment.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors of misrepresentations about SEC “approvals” of offerings.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (OIEA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Office of Customer Education and Outreach (CFTC) warn investors to scrutinize investment opportunities through websites purporting to operate advisory and trading businesses related to digital assets. These websites often contain “red flags” of fraud including claims of high guaranteed returns and promises that the investments carry little or even no risk.

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are issuing this Investor Bulletin to inform investors about social sentiment investing tools and highlight their risks. This Bulletin provides tips to consider before using tools that analyze or aggregate information from social media sources to make investment decisions or attempt to predict changes in the stock market’s direction or in the price of a security.