West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.Net) – The SEC is stepping in to protect investors against fraudulent sales pitches and other investment related scams. Their new initiative, "PAUSE," which stands for Public Alert: Unregistered Soliciting Entities, aims to educate investors about current company complaints, questionable activities, boiler room fraud, phone solicitations, and other shady practices being used by money hungry scam artists.
PAUSE currently lists 56 unregistered soliciting entities and phone agencies that investors should avoid. The SEC plans to update the list regularly, and hopes that individuals will visit the site before making any investment decisions.
“PAUSE is a great resource for investors looking to steer clear of the latest phony investment offers that permeate the Internet." says SEC chairman Christopher Cox. "It’s designed to make it easier for investors to figure out whether an investment solicitation is legitimate by quickly seeing whether the person making the offer is SEC-registered, has a valid U.S. address, and is affiliated with an authentic U.S. brokerage.
Just last month, a father-daughter duo team lured over $70 million away from elderly Birtish residents in their boiler-room scheme. The SEC is hoping to prevent future cases like this from happening, not only in the U.S., but all over the globe.
"Rather than succumb to high-pressure sales tactics, investors should take a moment to consider whether the promises being made are too good to be true," explains John Reed Stark, Chief of the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement.
Many times, companies claim to be registered in the United States, when in fact, they have no affiliation with the U.S. The SEC receives hundreds of complaints a year from overseas law enforcement officials trying to track down white-collar criminals.
"Too many’investments’ that are too good to be true flunk these basic tests," says Cox. "By arming investors with this online resource, we’re making it increasingly difficult for swindlers to succeed with their illegal activities.”
To view the PAUSE webpage, click here.
Julie Scuderi
Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: julie@hedgeco.net
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