When it comes to personal investing, business owners should resist conventional wisdom, not to mention certain temptations. Fraudsters are counting on you not to investigate before you invest. They have no incentive to set you straight. Fend them off by doing your digging.⁣

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭: Voluntary emails, message board postings, and company news releases should never be used as the sole basis for your investment decisions.⁣

𝐁𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐬: Be wary if you receive an uninvited pitch to invest in a company or “offshore” investments, or see it praised online, but can’t find current financial information about it from independent sources.

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝗪: Scam artists often tell their victims that this is a once-in-a-lifetime offer and it will be gone tomorrow. But resist the pressure to invest quickly.⁣

𝐁𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 ‘𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐨’ 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭: Investors can be blinded by a ‘halo’ effect when a con artist comes across as likable or trustworthy. Credibility can be faked. Check out actual qualifications.⁣

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲: Fraudsters often try to lure investors through free investment seminars, figuring if they do a small favor for you, such as supplying a free lunch, you will do a big favor for them and invest in their product.⁣

𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫: Make yourself knowledgeable about the different types of fraud and red flags that may signal investment fraud.⁣⁣

If you have any questions or concerns about investment, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞