First I will start this week’s article on the top ten investment scam available today. Top 10 investing scams The stock market has picked up steam lately, but for many investors the resurgence isn't enough. Instead, they look for quicker ways to bolster their portfolios. The problem is, some promised high-return opportunities are downright frauds. Ponzi scammers top the list of scam artists taking return-hungry investors to the cleaners, according to the latest look at the investment industry by the North American Securities Administrators Association. A close second -- investment fraudsters targeting seniors. "These schemes offer products and pitches that may sound tempting to many seniors who've seen their retirement accounts and income dwindle in recent years," says Ralph A. Lambiase, NASAA president and director of the Connecticut Division of Securities. "It pays to remember that if an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it usually is." The quest for a safe investment vehicle is the common theme in all the scams. Here are this year's top 10, ranked roughly in order of prevalence or seriousness: 1. Ponzi schemes. This is an old scam named for Charles Ponzi, a swindler from the early 1900s who conned $10 million from investors by promising 40 percent returns. His scam has been copied by countless crooks. The formula is simple: Promise high returns to investors and use their money to pay previous investors. According to the NASAA, Ponzi scammers often blame government intervention for the failure of their system. In Mississippi last year, two Ponzi scammers pled guilty to a scheme that bilked 41 investors from four states out of $10.2 million. They told investors they were taking part in a money-trading program. The program never existed. 2. Senior investment fraud. Record-low investment rates, rising health care costs and an increased life expectancy have set seniors up as targets for con artists peddling investment fraud -- like Ponzi scams, unregistered securities, promissory notes, charitable gift annuities and viatical settlements. Last year, Pennsylvania securities regulators shut down a Ponzi scheme that bilked $2 million from seniors' pensions and IRAs. 3. Promissory notes. These are short-term debt instruments often sold by independent insurance agents and issued by little-known or nonexistent companies. They typically promise high returns, upward of 15 percent monthly, with little or no risk. 4. Unscrupulous stockbrokers. As share prices tumble, some brokers cut corners or resort to outright fraud, say state securities regulators. And investors who have grown more cautious and scrutinized their brokerage statements have discovered their financial adviser has been bilking them via unexplained fees, unauthorized trades or other irregularities. 5. Affinity fraud. Taking advantage of the tendency of people to trust others with whom they share similarities, scammers use their victim's religious or ethnic identity to gain their trust and then steal their life savings. The techniques range from "gifting" programs at churches to foreign exchange scams. 6. Unlicensed individuals, such as independent insurance agents, selling securities. From Washington state to Florida, scam artists use high commissions to entice independent insurance agents into selling investments they may know little about. The person running the scam instructs the unlicensed sales force to promise high returns with little or no risk. This is the third year this entry has been on the top-10 list. Investors approached by an independent agent should first call the state's securities regulator and ask if the salesperson is licensed. Then ask whether the investment being offered is registered as well. If the answers are yes, the investors should be more comfortable about the product. But investors should review the product with the same healthy skepticism that they would any investment opportunity. 7. "Prime bank" schemes. Con artists promise investors triple-digit returns through access to the investment portfolios of the world's elite banks. Purveyors of these schemes often target conspiracy theorists, promising access to the "secret" investments used by the Rothschilds or Saudi royalty. In an effort to warn investors, the Federal Reserve pointed out that these don't exist. But unfortunately, that government denouncement just feeds into the conspiracy mindset linked to this scam. 8. Internet fraud. According to NASAA, Internet fraud has become a booming business. In November, federal, state, local and foreign law-enforcement officials targeted Internet fraudsters during Operation Cyber Sweep. They identified more than 125,000 victims with estimated losses of more than $100 million and made 125 arrests. "The Internet has made it simple for a con artist to reach millions of potential victims at minimal cost," says Lambiase. "Many of the online scams regulators see today are merely new versions of schemes that have been fleecing off-line investors for years." Lambiase warns consumers to avoid the infamous Nigerian 419 scam, saying Internet users should ignore e-mails from individuals in need of help who want to deposit money in overseas bank accounts. "Don't be dot-conned," he says. "If you get an e-mail pitching a deal that can't be beat, hit delete." 9. Mutual fund business practices. Recent mutual fund scandals have made the national news and attracted the attention of investors and launched several investigations. "These investigations demonstrate a fundamental unfairness and a betrayal of trust that hurts Main Street investors while creating special opportunities for certain privileged mutual fund shareholders and insiders," says Lambiase. "We will continue to actively pursue inquiries into mutual fund improprieties," he says. 10. Variable annuities. As sales of variable annuities have risen, so have complaints from investors -- most notably, the omission of disclosure about costly surrender charges and steep sales commissions. According to the NASAA, variable annuities are often pitched to seniors through investment seminars -- but regulators say these products are unsuitable for many retirees. Lambiase says variable annuities make sense only for consumers who can afford to have their investment locked up for 10 years or longer. "Our fight against fraud never stops because each year con artists discover new ways to fleece the public," says Lambiase. "Sadly, many of the age-old scams still work to cheat victims of their hard-earned savings as well How To Prevent Getting Scammed/Tips to udentify scam Step One: Use the following Whois Lookup sites to find out the Web Owner details information: Lookup IP Address Lookup Internet Service Provider (ISP) Lookup IP Address belongs to (Organization) Lookup Country Lookup Continent Lookup State Lookup City Lookup Latitude Lookup Longitude Lookup Timezone Lookup Registrant (website registered address, person contacts & etc.) http://www.showmyip.com/ http://centralops.net/co/ http://www.seoconsultants.com/tools/whois.asp Step Two: Before participate the Web Program, review Web Owner Site’s operation location, and ascertain you fill comfortable with the Web Site. In any event of defaulted by the Web Owner, you can locate them & have them report to Internet Fraud Authority. Step Three: Search Internet Service Provider (ISP), and IP Address belongs to (Organization) email contact and record down. In any event of defaulted by Web Owner, you can file a complaint and has Scammer Site report to the ISP against them for abuse of Internet Fraud (obtained an information here is good enough to put Web Site liar in hot soup. With this power tool you can force the Scammer close up his Web Site or shutdown by ISP neither.) Step Four: If you got deceived, submit full details of the Web Site details information (refer to step one) with your e-payment confirmation and file a complaint email to the followings to alert the relevant authorities of the Internet Fraud: 1. Internet Fraud Coordinator: ifcc.tp@fbi.gov. 2. International Web Police: Director@Web-Police.org. 3. ISP Provider; abuse@........ (refer to Step One, search the abuse email contact of ISP Provider /and IP Address belongs to…and complaint of web site Network abuse). 4. Locate authority (refer to web Registrant station address, search on Internet to locate of country authority; such as “address/state police” or “(country) government authority”. The Authority information sites for 1, 2 & 3 are: http://www.web-police.org/ http://www.ifccfbi.gov/ http://www.scamwatch.com/ http://www.fraud.org/ Lastly to say; an investor should take note on Web Site’s ISP registered at un-privileged country, in any event of cheated you can address your problem to the locate authority /or police station to expose the cheater web site. If possible put on forum page to draw attention to other investor help to obtain email contact of the locate police authority. Online Investment Tips There are numerous ways to invest online and they have advantages too. One of the biggest advantages that you would have as an online investor is the low brokerage rates that you would have to pay the broker. Normal brokers would charge you a high fee while they handle your investment. This would obviously include advisory charges. Brokers offering online services offer relatively low commissions and are often called discount brokers. You can channel your trade through these agents at a lower rate. In this way the commission does not eat into your profits. Easy access is another advantage of online investment because it is the only resources that you required, would be a computer and an internet connection. Most online trading firms designated tabs for their online users and these are really user’s friendly. The money transaction methods are varied. You can choose an option in most convenient and easy way for you. Before beginning an online investment program, be sure to understand that most likely you are not linked directly to the market through your home computer and that the click of your mouse does not instantly execute trades or cancel orders. Determine if the stock quotes and account updates you receive are real-time or delayed. Checking the on-line brokers’ ability to get the best price for investors and most brokerage firms provide this information from the firm to substantiate any advertised claims concerning the ease and speed of online trading. Get the information from the firm about significant website outages, delays, and other interruptions that may affect your ability to execute trades and make sure that the firm has an alternative way or options to execute trades. Review the firm privacy and security policies and determine if your name will be used for mailing list or other promotional activities by the firm or any other party. Receiving clear information about sale commissions, transaction fees, and conditions that apply to any advertising discount on commissions will help you to feed your knowledge and you must know how to contact a customer service representative if any problems occur. Request a prompt attention and fair consideration and to be sure to keep good records to substantiate any problems that may occur. Contact your local securities division to verify the registration status and disciplinary history of the online brokerage firm, or file a complaint, if appropriate. Most of the online sites do not charge any fees for becoming members. Once you have been member, you will be able to use their services and starting investing. Many of the sires will also provide you with tips and advice as to how go about investing in different products. This will give you added an added advantage of investing online. In conclusion, there is always a risk associated with every investment, and High Yield Investment Programs are no exception. These risks are minimized by implementing proven and effective strategies. In my next article I will reveal the secret of the hyip pros, and how they have been profiting from the business of investing in hyip over the years.