Investment Fraud Prevention Tips for Investors and Businesses
There are fraudulent people, posing as legitimate investors, and they often prey on an entrepreneur with the promise of making easy money. Such a promise can often be too tempting to pass up for those looking to invest, so they do not perform the right research. Therefore, different kinds of fraud often end up costing American businesses billions of dollars a year.
Fraudulent people know that this is a time when you're most vulnerable, and it doesn't matter what site you're on, because someone is always willing to prey on you. You must be careful about choosing who to invest your money with.
While Go BIG Network is doing all we can to prevent fraudulent investors from entering the site, there are some things you need to watch for. Keep in mind: these tips are merely guides to help reveal potential danger. There is a possibility legitimate investors may or may not follow some of these practices.
With the following tips, you can better prepare yourself to avoid future situations of investment fraud. And you can never be too careful. Even with the efforts of Go BIG Network, it is never a bad thing to be knowledgeable about the warning signs of potential investment fraud.
Don't judge a person/company by their web site. A flashy website does not always mean that an individual company is legitimate. Web sites can be created in just a few days. After a short period of taking money, a site can vanish without a trace.
The most successful frauds appear to be as legitimate a company as any other, so it is only natural that a fraudulent business or person would want to create an impressive website.
In addition to fraudulent websites, you should also be careful when dealing with online newsletters, bulletin boards, and e-mails regarding potential investments or investors. While not all of these are scams, you will have to be particularly careful when dealing with these resources.
It can be hard differentiating between legitimate and fraudulent websites and other online resources, so the next step - research - becomes vitally important.
Don't invest in anything you are not absolutely sure about. Do your homework on the investment to ensure that it is legitimate. Make sure to also do your homework on the individual or company to ensure that they are legitimate.
While the internet is a breeding ground for potential investment fraud, it can also be a very valuable resource. One of the easiest ways to do your homework on an investment is by checking out other web sites regarding this person/company. If this is your dream or company, you owe it to yourself to do the due diligence of really digging deep. If you care, the deal can wait a week until you find out how valid they are.
You can certainly use the internet to your advantage in this process. Even a simple Google search will tell you plenty about a person or company. If you cannot find any information about this potential investment, that can be concerning. It is always best to find other opinions, news, or reviews about this company, but be sure that this information also comes from a trusted source.
You can also research a company's financial statements, including a history of whether or not the business has made money for people in the past. You can even call the company's offices - or the people/businesses that it deals with - and get more information. The best thing you can do for yourself in preventing investment fraud is asking plenty of questions.
Be cautious when responding to special investment offers (especially through unsolicited e-mail). Inquire about all the terms and conditions. Ask about every detail, and get every official paper they have. If they're willing to fund you, they're willing to go the extra mile for your sound mind.
And the last Golden Rule - If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
The sophisticated Nigerian 419 Scam that many people have become familiar with is one such scam. Beware of any international "firm" which requires a "fee" to be sent through a wire transfer to a foreign bank. The FBI warns against this and other similar scams. While the government is working to do all it can to crack down on these types of scams, it is still important that you are extremely careful with who you are dealing with.
An accredited investor, according the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is one who:
Utilizing all this information will give you the best chance to ensure your business avoids investment fraud. Many businesses are affected by investment fraud each and every year, mostly due to the reasons mentioned above. Don't be lured by the promise of "easy money" and be sure to perform exhaustive research on your potential investment - after all, it is your money that you are dealing with.
Fraudulent people know that this is a time when you're most vulnerable, and it doesn't matter what site you're on, because someone is always willing to prey on you. You must be careful about choosing who to invest your money with.
While Go BIG Network is doing all we can to prevent fraudulent investors from entering the site, there are some things you need to watch for. Keep in mind: these tips are merely guides to help reveal potential danger. There is a possibility legitimate investors may or may not follow some of these practices.
With the following tips, you can better prepare yourself to avoid future situations of investment fraud. And you can never be too careful. Even with the efforts of Go BIG Network, it is never a bad thing to be knowledgeable about the warning signs of potential investment fraud.
Don't judge a person/company by their web site. A flashy website does not always mean that an individual company is legitimate. Web sites can be created in just a few days. After a short period of taking money, a site can vanish without a trace.
The most successful frauds appear to be as legitimate a company as any other, so it is only natural that a fraudulent business or person would want to create an impressive website.
In addition to fraudulent websites, you should also be careful when dealing with online newsletters, bulletin boards, and e-mails regarding potential investments or investors. While not all of these are scams, you will have to be particularly careful when dealing with these resources.
It can be hard differentiating between legitimate and fraudulent websites and other online resources, so the next step - research - becomes vitally important.
Don't invest in anything you are not absolutely sure about. Do your homework on the investment to ensure that it is legitimate. Make sure to also do your homework on the individual or company to ensure that they are legitimate.
While the internet is a breeding ground for potential investment fraud, it can also be a very valuable resource. One of the easiest ways to do your homework on an investment is by checking out other web sites regarding this person/company. If this is your dream or company, you owe it to yourself to do the due diligence of really digging deep. If you care, the deal can wait a week until you find out how valid they are.
You can certainly use the internet to your advantage in this process. Even a simple Google search will tell you plenty about a person or company. If you cannot find any information about this potential investment, that can be concerning. It is always best to find other opinions, news, or reviews about this company, but be sure that this information also comes from a trusted source.
You can also research a company's financial statements, including a history of whether or not the business has made money for people in the past. You can even call the company's offices - or the people/businesses that it deals with - and get more information. The best thing you can do for yourself in preventing investment fraud is asking plenty of questions.
Be cautious when responding to special investment offers (especially through unsolicited e-mail). Inquire about all the terms and conditions. Ask about every detail, and get every official paper they have. If they're willing to fund you, they're willing to go the extra mile for your sound mind.
And the last Golden Rule - If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!
The sophisticated Nigerian 419 Scam that many people have become familiar with is one such scam. Beware of any international "firm" which requires a "fee" to be sent through a wire transfer to a foreign bank. The FBI warns against this and other similar scams. While the government is working to do all it can to crack down on these types of scams, it is still important that you are extremely careful with who you are dealing with.
An accredited investor, according the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is one who:
- is a bank, insurance company, registered investment company, business development company, or small business investment company
- has an individual net worth of or joint net worth with spouse, that exceeds $1 million at the time of purchase
- is a natural person with income exceeding $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with a spouse exceeding $300,000 for those years and a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year
- is a trust with assets in excess of $5 million, not formed to acquire the securities offered, whose purchases a sophisticated person makes
Utilizing all this information will give you the best chance to ensure your business avoids investment fraud. Many businesses are affected by investment fraud each and every year, mostly due to the reasons mentioned above. Don't be lured by the promise of "easy money" and be sure to perform exhaustive research on your potential investment - after all, it is your money that you are dealing with.
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