Don't Fall For Stock Market Trading Tip Scams
The Internet has opened up a tremendous amount of opportunities for getting rich, and getting fleeced. But by using your common sense as well as the latest computer security software, you can protect yourself from stock market trading tip scams. They come in a variety of forms, but basically all have the same tell-tale characteristic - they all give a stock market trading tip that is too good to be true.
Spam
If you've been on the internet for more than ten minutes you are probably all too familiar with spam. This refers to unsolicited emails or faxes that often are masks for fraud. Scams like these have been around probably as soon as human being learned to walk, so this is merely a new twist to an old game. Sometimes the addresses might be familiar, but they could be fake.
All of these include a hot stock market trading tip, usually about overseas investments, but not always. You are urged to act quickly and the sender or author of the stock market trading tip is usually a pseudonym (false name). Also, you will sometimes be guaranteed results. This last bit is a sure sign of a scam, because there are no guarantees in the stock market.
Forum Posts
Internet forums are very popular ways to not only get to know new friends, but also get to compare techniques and resources. There are countless forums devoted to personal finance and online stock trading. The only unfortunate aspect of these forums is that anyone can easily join and pretty much post what they want to.
Forum administrators do their best to try and get rid of any posts that seem to be hateful, pornographic, spam or links to suspect websites. But the forum administrator can't screen every post every day. So, sooner or later, fake stock market trading tips pop up. If they are like the spam versions, then ignores them. If they are on a forum that is not devoted to money in any way, DEFINITELY ignore them!
Do Your Research
If you come across any stock market trading tip that is interesting, please do your homework before you lay your money down. You need to be sure that the company you are investing in actually exists. One way to do this is to see if the company has been registered with the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC). If you think you might be the victim of a stock market trading tip scam, contact the SEC immediately.
