SIGNS IT MAY BE A FRAUD OR A SCAMPromises that an investment will consistently earn a lot of money—anything that seems too good to be true usually is.People who lie and say they know a lot about your retirement/investment needs.Not having the right paperwork that tells about the investment (i.e. stocks/mutual funds must have a prospectus and bonds must have a circular).Aggressive, pushy salespeople who want your answer, your money, or your signature right away.HOW TO AVOID INVESTMENT SCAMSRead about and understand any investment before you give someone your money. Ask for information in writing. Use the EDGAR database (www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/webusers.htm) to research investments and investment companies.Get the name and company information of the salesperson offering an investment.

The calling card for this fraud is an exciting, low-risk, easy money investment opportunity in an exotic sounding business. Below are certain businesses which attract more than their fair share of financial fraud:Oil and Gas: Beware of “working interests” in “proven” oil and gas wells. Frauds include fake drilling equipment set on worthless land or vacant wells that haven’t produced in years.Equipment Leasing: Pay close attention when a company sells you a piece of equipment which it agrees to lease back for a fee. Be certain the company is legitimate and the contract fee structures make business sense. Pay phones, ATM machines, internet kiosks, or any other consumer technologies are favorites among leasing fraud.Franchise Offerings: “Get in on the ground floor of this can’t-miss opportuni

Securities Fraud – Promissory NotesPromissory note fraud takes the form of short-term debt obligations issued by bogus companies. Typically, they're sold through independent insurance agents and offer above market returns with little or no risk – “guaranteed”.Always beware of any investment offering above market interest rates and guarantees. It's a potentially lethal combination.Also, beware of trusted professionals selling investment products that aren't their ordinary field of expertise (such as insurance salespeople or accountants promoting investments).Securities Fraud – Advance FeesThe objective of this fraud is to steal the advance fees you pay to participate in some larger objective.For example, you might be asked to make a series of upfront payments for a bargain shipment of heati

Affinity group fraud is another example of mistaken trust.Investment fraudsters will exploittheir victim’s age, religious, ethnic, sexual, or professional identityto gain your confidence knowing that it’s human nature to trust people who are like you.Affinity fraud bypassesthenatural distrust we have for schemes promoted by strangers.Theusual method of sellingthefraud is to enroll a trusted, leading member ofthegroup (who's seldom an investment expert) into sellingthefraud totheremainder ofthegroup.Thelure to invest isthesupposed profits that will somehow benefitthechurch or professional organization that you want to support.For example, a respected church leader is sold an investment.Thescam artistthen informs this leader that if church members also purchasetheinvestment,then profits can

List of Banned Users in the Tiger Community (11 Nov)Hi, there! This is CaptainTiger, your most helpful friend in the Tiger Community!​​Tiger Community is dedicated to building a lively community for all investors, where different views and opinions can be shared and investors can find value and new opportunities.We hope to create a sense of belonging for all Tiger Community members, anddo not tolerate the harassment, threatening, bullying of people, or any other inappropriate behaviours in our community.Here is the List of Banned Users for this week:​[How to report a user that violates the Tiger Community's rules]1. For reporting a post: Click "..." on the upper right corner > click "report"​​​​2. For reporting a comment: Long press a comment > click "report"​3. We encourage eve