Although McLeod defrauded federal law enforcement personnel, many of them trained investigators, his victims were not experienced in investigating investment scams. Relevant experience is everything. Only someone who had seen hundreds of scams could possibly have raised the alarm and saved the nest eggs that McLeod destroyed.
If, however, the person handling your nest egg spends like a trust fund baby on a weekend shopping bender, he is spending your money, not his own.
And therein lies one of the hallmarks of a dangerously savvy scam operator. If an investment sounds too good to be true, you are talking to an amateur scam artist. If it sounds reasonable, though, you might be talking to an experienced scam artist.
Let’s be honest. We are all susceptible to the Any-Friend-of-Bob’s Syndrome. It led many good investigators to loose their nest eggs in this case. As you read this it is leading thousands of people to put their life savings into the hands of someone who intends to steal it.
If your investment adviser has a trading program that can produce guaranteed returns, why is he hassling with investing for other people?
Scamsters now realize that the universe of possible victims is as big as the globe.
If you are considering investing through someone who is a member of ian dentifiable group of which you are a member (e.g., ethnic community, community of faith), consider that you might be considering an investment in an affinity fraud.
Finally, notice that this case involved the sale of promissory notes. Promissory notes are the vehicle of choice for scam artists in times of economic hardship.
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Scam artists are not bound by reality. They do not have to generate a real profit.