Investment Fraud Tag Archives — Securities Fraud Lawyers Blog

How ADR Abuse Can Lead to Investment Fraud

Published on: December 31, 2018 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

Investing in international assets is a great way to diversify and strengthen your portfolio. A healthy assortment of international security assets can set you up for long term success and aid your investments in weathering market volatility. Investing in internationally-based assets is made possible through the use of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).

An ADR is a security that represents shares of non-U.S. companies that are held by a U.S. depositary bank outside the United States. They allow you to invest in non-U.S. companies as well as provide non-U.S. companies easier access to the U.S. capital markets. Currently, there are more than 2,000 ADRs available which represent shares of companies in more than 70 countries.

While ADRs present new avenues and opportunities available to you, they – as with any security – are not without risks. As an investor, you need to perform the necessary research and due diligence on an ADR-represented security prior to investing.

Don't Fall Prey to Investment Fraud Following a Hurricane

Published on: October 15, 2018 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

When you consider the financial toll of a hurricane or other natural disaster, losses due to investment fraud is most likely not something you would factor in. However investment fraud following a catastrophic natural event is quite prevalent.

Many investors have found themselves in hot water after getting involved in investment opportunities related to hurricanes or other natural disasters. Scammers love using natural disasters to leverage investment fraud, as they are able to prey on vulnerabilities of both those directly affected by the event as well as those who want to help disaster victims.

In the wake of Hurricane Michael, you may receive unsolicited investment offers purporting to provide some type of opportunity for returns. These offerings may be related to disaster relief, clean-up, or even storm prevention. While it’s possible some of these offerings may be legitimate, chances are high that they are either too good to be true or a flat-out scam.

How to Know Short and Distort Manipulation When You See It

Published on: September 15, 2018 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

You know that the factors affecting an investment’s valuation go behind standard data and metrics. Often, an investment’s value can hinge largely on highly subjective factors, like public perception. The “reputation” of an asset or security can either signal an attractive investment opportunity or drive away investors.

You’ve probably heard of pump and dump schemes; a form of stock manipulation wherein essential information about an asset may be misrepresented or misreported in order to artificially drive-up its value before the scammer dumps their shares. In these types of schemes, fraudsters create a buy frenzy by promoting a stock as a desirable investment.

Well there’s also an inverse to this type of investment fraud and it’s called a short and distort scam.

5 Tips for Protecting Your Self-Directed IRA from Fraud

Published on: August 23, 2018 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

Investing in your future financial security is one of the wisest decisions you can make. Planning for your retirement now can provide you with peace-of-mind for the future. There are many ways you can invest in retirement savings; one of the most popular being through an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The great thing about IRAs is that there are several different types available, so you can find the one that suits your investment plan.

However, most traditional IRA savings accounts offer a limited selection of investment options. Typically, they offer a selection pre-approved by the firm or entity servicing your investment account. If you are looking for greater flexibility in terms of investment options, you may want to consider opening a self-directed IRA account.

Self-directed IRAs allow you to invest in a broader portfolio of assets than traditional IRAs. What’s important to understand, however, is that with greater flexibility in your investment options, you may be subject to additional risks.

SEC Publishes New Guidelines for Disclosing Cybersecurity Risks to Investors

Published on: March 30, 2018 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

Understanding Cybersecurity Risks

In today’s digital age, the use of technology to facilitate investments has become largely commonplace. We can see many examples of how investing has moved to the cyber-realm from online investing platforms to robo-advisers. While this has greatly empowered investors to take more direct control over their investment strategy, it has also increased the potential vulnerability to cyber fraud and theft.

“In a digitally connected world, cybersecurity presents ongoing risks and threats to our capital markets and to companies operating in all industries, including public companies…”

My Big Co(i)n: Cryptocurrency Scams Play on Same Old Tricks

Published on: February 2, 2018 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

Bitcoin – Big Coin – Bitcoin – Big Coin…

Read that over a few times. Are those two words beginning to sound similar?

That’s what the founders of My Big Coin, Inc. were hoping when they created their cryptocurrency investment offering. The Nevada-based company has been accused of defrauding investors hoping to cash-in on the recent investment trend.

Regulators’ Concerns Grow Amid Cryptocurrency Investing Boom

Published on: January 5, 2018 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

“Cryptocurrency”, “blockchain”

These are the buzz words among investors as we head into 2018. Building on the success and popularity of Bitcoin – which seems to be hitting new record highs every week – has caused a stir among investors, and it’s getting the attention of businesses.

As investors look to find out how they can invest in the emerging cryptocurrency boom, startups and businesses are trying to find ways to capitalize. Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) have started popping up as opportunities for investors to get involved with cryptocurrency investing at ground-level. However, financial regulators say investors need to be aware of fraud risks.

Top Investor Tips for 2017

Published on: December 29, 2017 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

Investor Tips: A Year in Review

With a new year upon us, we thought we’d look back at the most popular questions investors have been asking over the past year. Here are the most popular investor tips for 2017:

Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)

Investing 101: Wrap Fees Explained

Published on: December 8, 2017 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

If you’ve looked into hiring an investment adviser or advisory firm to help manage your investments, you may have seen some offer various advisory services bundled together under one comprehensive fee. These types of service fees are called wrap fees and are offered as sponsored packages by many advisory firms.

With wrap fee programs, your advisor or firm serves as the “sponsor” for the program; essentially the liaison between you and your service offerings. Typically, the fee for these types of programs is determined by the overall value of your investment account. While it may seem easy enough on your end to just pay one flat fee for a bundling of advisory services, there are things you need to watch for when considering wrap fee programs.

Understanding Wrap Fees

Investors Need to Watch Out for Paid-to-Click Fraud

Published on: November 10, 2017 | by Savage Villoch Law, PLLC

Investors Beware: Paid-to-Click Fraud

There’s a new online scam targeting investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued an alert to investors to watch out for Paid-to-Click (PTC) fraud. PTC scams involve fraudsters duping investors out of money for purchasing online advertisements.

With Paid-to-Click fraud, investors are targeted by scammers who promise a share of profits for the upfront purchase of ad bundles and packages. Some scams may promise easy financial returns and online advertising space while others simply promise returns in exchange for an upfront fee alone.