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Financial scams prey upon those who are least able to recover financially
The retirement years are supposed to be “golden.” If you have worked hard and saved your money, you should be able to retire in peace and enjoy the fruits of your decades of labor. But a growing number of financial scammers are taking advantage of retirees and their savings. It is rapidly growing into an epidemic; while retirees comprise only a small portion of the public, they make up a large percentage of people taken in financial scams. Here are some things you should watch for.
Many of the scammers offer “free” investment seminars to those who are interested. They may run ads in major newspapers or on television or radio. Sometimes, they even offer free meals along with their talk. They will address the concerns of many seniors who are worried about their investments, their retirement years and whether they have enough money to live out their lives in comfort.
While the seminars are free, the scammers do have something to offer . Usually the product is an investment of some sort and generally it is one that would not be well suited to a retiree. More often than not, the product is a variable annuity or an equity index fund, perhaps tied to an insurance policy. The funds may or may not be legitimate, but they tend to be tied to the stock market. If the market performs well, the funds make money. If not, then they don’t. The scammer, of course, makes out like a bandit on commissions. The investors, who probably shouldn’t be investing money in the stock market during their retirement years, often get stung. Often, even after discovering that their money is tied up in stocks, victims find that their money is locked up for a specific period of time and that they cannot withdraw it.
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