As members of the legion of seniors who have been financially victimized by unscrupulous securities brokers, we want to share some helpful information with you.
The FBI has sole criminal investigative authority in all securities and commodities fraud. They are now targeting the Securities companies and their employees in position of trust who have been bilking seniors. Fraud among the licensed brokerage communities has continued to be an enormous crime problem. In May of 2003 it was reported by the NASSA that, “securities fraud alone costs investors $40 billion dollars per year.”
Seniors are facing increasingly complex and confusing scams. The North American Securities Administrators Association’s Fraud Center reports that mutual fund practices, senior investment fraud that includes unauthorized trades, and variable annuities, are the prime areas of these schemes.
State Securities regulators say they are receiving a high level of complaints from senior investors because their financial advisors are: “cutting corners or resorting to outright fraud to fatten their wallets.”
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC) recommends: The National Futures Association’s Bill of Rights for investors. It states that before investing, the client is entitled to receive from the broker a complete written disclosure of the risks, obligations and costs of any investment. In addition the investor should receive a detailed accounting of all commissions, sales charges, maintenance, service charges, and redemption penalties.
Most seniors are conservative investors whose main request is: to get a reasonable interest rate, and preservation of their capital. Because of the complex monthly statements they are unable to understand the hidden fees.
Please take some time to check out the helpful links that we have provided to show you how to understand your monthly statements, and where to go if you feel that you have been a victim of an unethical broker.
You are entitled to receive assistance, and in many cases compensation for your loses.
If you have information that could assist our readers please share it with us.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR BROKERAGE ACCOUNT STATEMENTS
A checklist follows to help you understand each section of a statement, next, a list of frequently asked ... www.nasaa.org/content/Files/BrokerStatements.pdf
NATIONAL FUTURES ASSOCIATION INVESTORS BILL OF RIGHTS
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/investor-bill/investor.htm
Protect Your Money
Check out Brokers and Advisors
http://www.sec.gov/investor/brokers.htm
Questions to ask a broker before you invest.
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/askquestions.htm
Questions to ask about Mutual Funds.
http://www.ici.org/funds/inv/bro_questions.html
http://www.ici.org/statements/inv/bro_g2_bmfs.html#TopOfPage
Questions to ask about Variable Annuities
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/varannty.htm
NASSA INVESTMENT-RELATED COMPLAINT CENTER
http://www.nasaa.org/QuickLinks/nasaa_complaintcenterform.cfm?
CFID=113801&CFTOKEN=45031509
FILE COMPLAINT
Fees and Expenses INVESTOR GUIDE UNIVERSITY
http://www.investorguide.com/igufundfees.html
Transferring your brokerage Account Tips on avoiding delays.
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/acctxfer.htm
Check to see if your money is protected.
SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
http://www.sipc.org/sipclquestion.html
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION FDIC INSURED
http://www.fdic.gov/
SECURITIES INVESTOR PROTECTION CORPORATION
“What to do when brokerage firms are closed due to bankruptcy”
http://www.sipc.org/who/sipcmission.cfm
SECURITIES FRAUD AND INVESTOR PROTECTION
“The best site we have found.”
http://www.securitieslaw.com/index.html
QUATLOOS Scams & Frauds Exposed
Law Enforcement Agencies
http://www.quatloos.com/lawenfor/lawenfor.htm
THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF CALIFORNIA
File a complaint
http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/mailform.htm
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU ONLINE COMPLAINT SYSTEM
File a Complaint. The Better Business Bureau system and BBBOnLine have made it ... We take complaints involving all types of businesses
www.bbbonline.org/consumer/complaint.asp
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION FTC
Tells Congress Changes in Law and More Resources Would Enhance the Agency’s Consumer Protection Efforts in Financial Services Markets
www1.ftc.gov/index.shtml
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION - SECURITIES FRAUD
http://sanfrancisco.fbi.gov/securitiesfraud.htm
File Complaint: san.francisco@fbi.gov ATTENTION: Squad 14 A
FBI Financial Institution Fraud
NASAA FRAUD CENTER
http://www.nasaa.org/nasaa/news&pa/Fraud_Center.asp
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority FINRA
http://www.finra.org/AboutFINRA/index.htm
SECURITY EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC)
Centers for Complaints and Enforcement Tips
http://www.sec.gov/complaint.shtml
DEPARTMENT OF CORPORATIONS File Complaint
http://www.corp.ca.gov/comp/complist.html
Complaint form: http://www.corp.ca.gov/pdf/doc29.pdf
CONGRESS OF CALIFORNIA SENIORS
Seniors Against Investment Fraud SAIF
http://www.seniors.org/whatsnew.asp?id=1926
OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
The President's Corporate Fraud Task Force
http://www.usdoj.gov/dag/cftf/
MSN MONEY-Top 10 investing scams-State investing
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content
/Investing/Startinvesting/P85068.asp
Education for Seniors
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORPORATIONS
http://www.corp.ca.gov/
Securities & Investment Fraud Lawsuit Overview
http://www.injuryboard.com/view.cfm/Topic=42
Contact Chairman of The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging
Larry Craig, Idaho.
http://aging.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Members.Home
FEDERAL CITIZEN INFORMATION CENTER
Scams and Frauds
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/scamsdesc.htm
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF SECURITIES DEALERS
Overview of National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) ... or sale of security futures is subject to an order of the Securities and Exchange ...
www.liveoffice.com/regulations/nasd.asp
FINRA BROKER CHECK
FINRA BrokerCheck is a free online tool to help investors check the professional background of current and former FINRA-registered securities firms and ...
finra.org/brokercheck
File a Claim
http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/complaintresources.htm
Government help and education.
http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Seniors.shtml
Reading these books will help you avoid problems:
Lynn O'Shaughnessy's book Retirement Bible was informative and helpful as I plan for my retirement. It was in a format that even I could understand...
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Helping Your Aging Parent by William J. Grote
HELPING YOUR AGING PARENT is a worthy companion for everyone facing their ... Helping Your Aging Parent: A Step-By-Step Guide by William J. Grote is a ...
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