Douglas F. Stone Investments Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Research findings from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the AARP might surprise you. The typical investment scam victim is a married man in his late 50s with better than average understanding of financial markets and strong confidence in his judgment. Victims of investment fraud tend to be better educated than non-victims, have higher incomes and have been investing for ten years or more. 

How does this happen? Con artists are great at listening carefully to victims and then telling them what they want to hear. Scam artists act to control the conversation, speak excitedly, and suggest they can deliver high returns. Men are generally more susceptible to this, while women tend to be more cautious and ask too many questions.

How can you protect yourself? Proceed with caution if someone you do not know contacts you to offer investment advice. It is OK to listen, but be careful about revealing confidential financial information to a stranger. Be especially careful if you are not familiar with the person’s firm. If you listen and want to proceed, ask the person to send information that you can review. Take time and do your homework before investing with someone new. You should see a red flag if the caller tells you that you must act now to buy low before the price rises quickly.

Someone you know may have been victimized. Victims of investment fraud are often slow to reveal themselves or to learn of the fraud. They are often too embarrassed to admit that they were abused. Many others never realize that they have been victimized.

If you have been the victim of investment fraud, you may be able to recover some of your money. You can contact the NYC investment fraud lawyer Douglas Stone at 866 720-3754 for a free consultation. NYC and Westchester securities lawyer, Mr. Stone has worked on Wall Street as an attorney and broker for over twenty years and decides investment disputes as a FINRA arbitrator. You can e-mail NYC investment fraud lawyer at dstone@dougstonlaw.com if you have any questions.