| Beware con artists pitch strategic metals { March 21 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.wral.com/money/2056248/detail.htmlhttp://www.wral.com/money/2056248/detail.html
Group Warns About Wartime Scams Con Artists Piggyback On Headlines
POSTED: 2:31 p.m. EST March 21, 2003
State securities regulators warn as the United States wages war against Iraq that con artists often take their cues from the headlines.
Investors lost money to financial schemes tied to Y2K and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and Alabama's securities commissioner, Joseph Borg, said it's likely to happen again now.
He expects to see more oil and gas investment scams, flimsy pitches to invest in "strategic metals," and get-rich-quick offers involving tiny companies that supposedly have products or technology to combat chemical or biological terrorism. Borg's group, the North American Securities Administrators Association, is advising consumers to use common sense and hang up on callers promoting "safe" or "sure-thing" investments.
If you're promised an unusually high return with low risk, walk away or risk becoming a fraud victim, he said.
Borg also said to avoid offers that you simply don't understand. Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
|