Chicago (WLS) — You may be considering new investments in 2023, but be careful.
According to the IRS Criminal Investigation Service, thousands of people fall victim to boiler room schemes each year. These schemes use high-pressure sales techniques to persuade victims to invest in fictitious investments that look real.
- Do not respond to online requests for personal information from websites asking if you are interested in investing. Scammers use that information to target you.
- Do not assume that the website means your investment is legal. The scammer clones her website for the real investment company or makes everything up under a fake company name.
- Please double check your employment information. Just because a solicitation caller uses a legitimate broker’s name on her company’s website does not mean that the broker is actually affiliated with that broker.
- Please do your own research. A scammer uses his platform online to generate fictitious performance data for stocks that don’t actually exist.
- If you have become a victim of one of these schemes, do not pay any fees or taxes to the scammers to withdraw your money. You will lose more money and the scammer will end communication with you.
- Report fraud to law enforcement. If you suspect that an individual or business is engaging in fraudulent activity, please submit Form 3949-A, Information Request.
See here for more quick tips.
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