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Investor Alerts

  • Binary Options: These All-Or-Nothing Options Are All-Too-Often Fraudulent
    FINRA cautions investors who are considering binary options to be alert to potentially fraudulent schemes, and particularly wary of non-U.S. companies that offer binary options trading platforms.
  • It Can Be Hard to Recover from “Recovery” Scams
    It's an alluring offer. You hear from someone who claims to be able to help you recover money you lost from a previous investment. The information sounds credible and the organization sounds legitimate. FINRA is issuing this alert to warn investors, particularly investors who live outside the U.S., that offers to recover money lost from securities investments may be fraudulent.
  • Understanding Order Types Can Save Time and Money
    FINRA is issuing this alert to inform you about order types commonly available when you buy or sell securities. Understanding the benefits and risks of various types of orders can help you avoid unintended losses and better ensure your trades are executed in a timely manner and at a price with which you are comfortable.
  • Boiler Room Alert: If You Get a Call Like This, Don’t Bite—and Don’t Buy
    Boiler room-style calls are characterized by high pressure sales pitches from people who call you out of the blue, working from a list or simply dialing from a phone book. FINRA is issuing this alert because we have seen an increase in aggressive calls touting the next hot stock. Callers tend to target seniors, and have been all-too successful in conning people of all ages into buying penny stocks and other speculative investments.
  • Market Risk: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You
    The vote by Britain to leave the European Union was quickly felt the world over, creating market uncertainty and spiking volatility. We are re-issuing this Investor Alert to outline the different types of market risks your investments may be exposed to and to describe steps you can take to minimize or manage those risks.
  • Stock-Based Loan Programs: What Investors Need to Know
    Investors who need cash—or who want to tap the value of their portfolios without selling their investments—might be tempted to apply for a "stock-based loan," pledging fully paid securities as collateral for the loan. FINRA is issuing this Alert to educate investors about non-recourse stock-based loan programs, including risks and rewards and key questions to ask.
  • Power of Attorney and Your Investments—10 Tips
    It's never too early to consider how you want your financial affairs to be managed if something happens to you. One solution is to grant a power of attorney (POA) for your investment account assets to your spouse, sibling, adult child or close friend—someone you trust to act wisely and in your best interest.
  • Keeping Your Account Secure: Tips for Protecting Your Financial Information
    Your brokerage firm has an obligation to safeguard your personal financial information. And every investor should take time to understand their firm’s cybersecurity procedures. But even the best procedures cannot prevent all instances of identity theft—especially if the vulnerability lies with you, the customer. Here are critical steps you can take to safeguard your financial accounts and help prevent identity theft.
  • Securities-Backed Lines of Credit – It May Pay to See Beyond the Pitch
    An increasing number of securities firms are marketing and offering securities-backed lines of credit, or SBLOCs, to investors. SBLOCs can be a key revenue source for securities firms, especially in times of solid market returns and growing investment portfolios, when investors may feel more comfortable leveraging their assets. Firms market SBLOCs as a type of financing and liquidity strategy that can unlock the value of your investment portfolio.
  • Tools of the Fraud Trade: Phones and Emotions
    FINRA is publishing this Alert to warn investors not to send money or provide personal information associated with a widespread IRS impersonation scam timed to coincide with the October 15 deadline for anyone who filed a federal tax extension last April.
  • Sorry, This One’s Not a Winner: Don’t Get Fooled by a Lottery Scam
    FINRA is issuing this alert to warn investors about scammers who contact investors with promises of significant cash, prizes and lottery winnings. With fraudulent schemes, there is always a catch: You have to agree to send money upfront to secure your new riches. Our advice: don’t do it.
  • Smart Beta—What You Need to Know
    FINRA is issuing this investor alert to help investors better understand smart beta products.
  • Messaging Apps Are Latest Platform for Delivering Pump-And-Dump Scams
    FINRA is issuing this Alert to warn investors to be wary of stock promotions sent through popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp that allow users to almost instantly exchange messages.
  • Bond Liquidity—Factors to Consider and Questions to Ask
    If you're like many investors, your portfolio contains bonds. When you purchased those investments, you may not have given much thought to whether you'd be able to sell them when you want to. FINRA is issuing this alert to educate investors about bond liquidity, and the potential for decreased liquidity and investment losses for those who sell their bonds before maturity at a time of market stress.
  • Plan for Transition: What You Should Know About the Transfer of Brokerage Account Assets on Death
    FINRA is issuing this alert to inform brokerage account holders, family members and other beneficiaries about the value of preparing for the inevitable, and the general process firms follow when an account holder passes away. We also provide tips for making the transfer process as efficient and trouble-free as possible for account holders and also for heirs and beneficiaries.
  • Well-Traveled Fraud—Advance-Fee Scams Target Non-U.S. Investors Using Fake Regulator Websites and False Broker Identities
    We are issuing this Alert to warn non-U.S. investors that scammers are using fraud—including setting up phony "regulator" websites and fake identities—to separate you from your money.
  • Automated Investment Tools
    Automated investment tools may offer clear benefits—including low cost, ease of use, and broad access. But it is important to understand their risks and limitations before using them.
  • New Money Coming Into Indian Country: Plan for the Long Term
    A range of programs and lawsuit settlements have resulted in new money coming into Indian Country. If you are a recipient or potential recipient of this new money, you may have questions about how to manage and invest the assets, and how to select and work with an investment professional. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the FINRA Investor Education Foundation and First Nations Development Institute teamed up to develop the following tips to help you confidently manage this new money, as well as avoid financial fraud.
  • Cybersecurity and Your Brokerage Firm
    Information technology (IT) plays a critical role in the securities industry. Unfortunately, cyber threats to the information and computer systems of brokerage firms are increasing, and with these threats comes the risk of potential harm to investors.
  • E-Cigarette Stock Scams: New Smoking Technology Could Light Up Pump-and-Dump Fraud
    New technology such as electronic cigarettes, often called e-cigarettes, can give rise to legitimate investment opportunities. But sometimes it opens the door to fraud. FINRA is issuing this Alert to warn investors to be wary of aggressive promotions touting stocks that claim to capitalize on various aspects of the e-cigarette and vaporizer, or "vape," market.
  • Physical Precious Metals: Tips to Avoid Tarnishing Your Portfolio
    Precious metals are notorious for price movements that can pique investor interest during upswings and downswings alike. If you are thinking that now is the time to invest in physical precious metals such as silver, gold or maybe palladium or platinum, be aware of the risks involved. They include the potential for high-pressure sales tactics and even fraud.
  • Dormant Shell Companies—How to Protect Your Portfolio from Fraud
    Some low-priced "penny" stocks that are aggressively promoted may in fact be stocks of dormant shell companies that are susceptible to pump-and-dump scams.
  • "Free Lunch" Investment Seminars—Avoiding the Heartburn of a Hard Sell
    Investors frequently get invited to free seminars that promise to educate them about investing strategies or managing money in retirement—often with an expensive meal provided at no cost. But just because someone buys you breakfast, lunch or dinner doesn't mean you have to buy what they are saying—or selling.
  • Frontier Funds—Travel With Care

    "Frontier funds" that invest in securities of companies in countries with developing securities markets—like Argentina, Lebanon, Nigeria, Slovenia and Vietnam—are gaining investor attention. Some see investing in frontier funds as a way to diversify assets—going beyond funds that invest in established international and other more developed emerging markets. Frontier funds are also sparking the interest of some investors who are lured predominantly by potential gains.

  • Viral Disease Stock Scams: Don’t Let Them Infect Your Portfolio

    Keep your portfolio quarantined from potential viral disease investment scams. If history is a guide, dramatic news coverage of viral outbreaks, including Zika, Ebola and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), will likely catch the interest of stock scammers looking to capitalize on fears of a potential pandemic. Don't fall for the hype.