NASAA:
"NASAA FRAUD CENTER
State securities regulators have identified the Top 10 scams, schemes and scandals investors are likely to face in 2004. New to the North American Securities Administrators Association’s (NASAA) annual survey of state securities enforcement officials are mutual fund practices, senior investment fraud, and variable annuities.
“Investors are facing increasingly complex and confusing scams. Our fight against fraud never stops because each year con artists discover new ways to fleece the public. Sadly, many of the age-old scams still work to cheat victims of their hard-earned savings as well. It pays to remember that if an investment opportunity sounds too good to be true, it usually is,” said Ralph Lambiase, NASAA's President and Director of the Connecticut Securities Division.
Lambiase cautioned that investors must remain vigilant in the fight against investment fraud. “All securities regulators, whether local, state, or federal, share the common goal of protecting investors,” he said. “I urge legislators to help us continue to do our jobs by ensuring that regulators have sufficient resources to protect our citizens.”
Investors lose billions of dollars annually to investment fraud, Lambiase said. NASAA offers a wealth of resources to help investors protect their savings. "Education and awareness are an investor's first line of defense against investment fraud," Lambiase said.
