Money Matters

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10 signs of investment scam

1. Expectation of High Profits: Dont' be lured in by the temptation of a huge return. It could be a Ponzi scheme or a pump-and-dump stock fraud.

2. Low Risk: If someone tells you there's no risk, or even minimal risk, you should begin to ask questions. And, says the News, "A con man may become impatient or even aggressive if the question of risk is raised, a sign to walk the other way."

3. Urgency: Just like we wrote about with the oil spill cleanup scams, you should always be suspicious if someone is trying to rush you into an investment, especially an investment involving a significant amount of money. The more they push for your cash, the more you should sleep on it.

4. Confidence: Be wary of overly confident people offering investment opportunities. Often times, the intent of their swagger is to keep you from pulling out of the deal or asking questions.

5. Dressed for Success: Don't be fooled by the trappings of wealth. Scammers like Bernie Madoff and Marc Dreier lived lavish lives from the money they scammed. Yes, part of that was just greed, but another purpose was to convince investors that they were giving their money to someone who knew what they were doing.

6. The Power of Referrals: Swindlers will be sure to find money to pay back initial, well-connected investors, with the intention of having these folks spread the word to their moneyed friends. Again, be wary of word of mouth and look into what you're actually putting your money into.

7. Complex Investments: Writes the News: "The con artist loves to push poorly understood or little known products. These may be speculative inventions or any manner of official-looking or sounding investment vehicles. The favorites include gold bullion, offshore investments, private placements and even investments related to the foreign exchange."

8. Resistance to Questions: As pointed out above, if the person or persons dodge, deflect or flat-out don't answer your questions about the investment, your money would probably be better placed elsewhere.

9. No Third-Party Reviews: If you're told there's not enough time to have a third party look into the investment, or made to feel guilty or insecure about having another pair of eyes look it over, then it's probably best to walk away.

10. Nothing in Writing: If they won't put something in writing, then that means they don't want a paper trail. Anyone afraid of having concrete evidence of the investment is not someone you should be dealing with.

How to Choose a Standard Credit Card?
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The standard credit card is the most common type of credit card. It has a revolving balance with an interest rate and finance charges when you carry a balance beyond the grace period. Since these cards don't have many features, choose the best card based on the interest rate and fees.

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