The IRS Criminal Investigation Office said each year, thousands fall victim to boiler room schemes. These schemes use high-pressure sales techniques to convince victims to invest in fictitious investments that appear to be real.
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- Don't complete online requests for personal information from websites asking if you are interested in investing. Fraudsters use that information to target you.
- Don't think that a website means the investment is legit. Fraudsters clone real investment company websites or make them up all together with a fake company name.
- Double check employment information. Just because a cold-caller uses the names of legitimate brokers listed on a company's website doesn't mean they are really affiliated with those brokers.
- Do your own research. Fraudsters use online platforms to generate fictitious performance data for stocks that don't really exist.
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- If you find yourself a victim of one of these schemes, do not pay a fee or tax to the fraudsters to withdraw money. You will end up losing more money and then the fraudsters will end communications with you.
- Report fraud to law enforcement. Submit form 3949-A, Information Referral, if you suspect an individual or a business is committing fraud.
See more quick tips here.