Its dinnertime and the phone rings. It's Joe Noname with SuchNSuch Investment Company and has he got a deal for you.
Joe wants to be friendly and engage you in a few not-too-personal questions just to break the ice before he gets into his too-good-too-be-true pitch. Stock, oil, Internet, telecommunications, you name it.
Joe tells you about his company's credentials and how they are "affiliated" with some big New York bank or investment house - a name that everyone knows and trusts. And Joe also wants you to know how experienced he is and he came from a big, well-known brokerage house because this deal was too good to pass up and he wanted everyone to know about it. He has even bought shares in it himself. And pigs can fly!
He carefully mixes truth with unsubstantiated material, which appears to be fact. His company is registered (probably true) and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (lie, they don't approve of any company) and is affiliated with AT&T or Bill Gates (a lie, but very hard to check out). He interweaves little lies and big ones so it all sounds credible.
This investment is so good it is underwritten by the big brokerage house Morgan Stanley and guaranteed by MCI or some other big name. Furthermore, we guarantee your investment because you are paid first before any dividends are paid to any other shareholder. This is a "no-risk" investment. The last time our company had one of the high quality investments all the investors made 500% on their money in less than 18 months. Isn't that great! I wish I had some of the first offering; I'd be rich now. Joe will probably quote you some stock offering like Yahoo or Intel that did make this kind of return or even more, but you can be assured this company had nothing to do with it.
"Mr. Mushroom, don't miss out on this as there are only a limited number of shares my company is allowing me to offer. How much cash do you have you would like to make 500% on at this time? $5,000. I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll reserve a thousand shares for you and give you the option to pick up another 10,000 shares any time in the next 30 days provided you can wire in the first $5,000 immediately." Be careful of any offer where they must have the cash now, immediately, before yesterday. Or Joe is going to send you papers via FedX and you must return them immediately. And always kiss your money goodbye before you send it because that is the last time you will ever see it.
Ask for their address. If it is a P.O. box you know it is a scam. Whatever he tells you make sure it is not one of those mailbox businesses. Joe is either in a boiler room or calling you from home. Get his office phone number and home number. Ask him where he got your name.
In a nutshell here is what you want to listen for: The return is illogical (too good), his credentials are uncheckable, the names he drops are almost impossible to verify, it is a "no-risk" deal, they won't give you time to check them out (FedX) and you really don't know where they are located.
When Joe Noname calls I am polite and firm and just, very quickly, even before he gets into his pitch, say, "Thanks for the call, Joe, but I'm not interested" and I immediately hang up. Joe prefers this also because now he can go on to the next sucker.
Please, don't ever send money to a voice on the phone.
Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.
1-888-345-7870; http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
Time to look back2004 is over, now we are in... Read More
For the last 12 years we have seen the Japanese... Read More
This is an extract of an article which was first... Read More
I often hear from people, "I don't trade. I invest.... Read More
It is difficult to make money in a bull market,... Read More
Hedge current portfolio positions and gain access to capital resources... Read More
Mutual funds by definition are a mixed bag of stocks,... Read More
I would like to share with the reader an article... Read More
Inverted interest rates? What's that? Who cares? Even if you... Read More
When purchasing mutual funds we are cautioned to read the... Read More
On the 40 year journey through the turmoil of a... Read More
Stocks breakout from properly formed bases everyday but many investors... Read More
There are so many kinds of work that needs to... Read More
One of the great "secrets" of successful people is discipline... Read More
There is no question that the stock market is being... Read More
There can't be many traders who haven't at least considered... Read More
Well, not really. What I mean is I don't mind... Read More
Refuse is a serious issue in any society, about as... Read More
Options trading can increase the profits you make when trading... Read More
First let's see what protectionism is. According to Mr. Webster... Read More
The Bollinger Band theory is designed to depict the volatility... Read More
THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID FOR standing firm in the... Read More
Among the largest forces that affect stock prices are inflation,... Read More
Everyone who invests in the stock market wants to be... Read More
All of the talking heads have been telling us that... Read More
Alto Pass cool limo ..When you become interested in a stock or mutual fund... Read More
I am hearing predictions by brokers, financial planners, talk show... Read More
The fight continues to rage among traders who use technical... Read More
Disclaimer: Please note that I do not necessarily purchase, own,... Read More
After the publication of the first part of this two... Read More
Using Swing Trading Strategies and Technical Analysis when Trading Stocks... Read More
Investors who exclusively use broadly diversified, no load mutual funds... Read More
I have watched my cat play with a bag of... Read More
One of the greatest challenges of investing in stocks is... Read More
You remember (they show it on TV every year) the... Read More
I don't know what kind it is, but I saw... Read More
The stock market has been in an up trend for... Read More
The World Bank claims that some two billion of the... Read More
Let me start by saying that...Most online brokers do not... Read More
A 'stock option' is a contract between two parties giving... Read More
Invest in the stock market for the RIGHT reason, using... Read More
Because there are so many stocks that are NOT paying... Read More
It seems that every day I turn on the TV... Read More
Mutual funds are doing more and more to discourage investors... Read More
Cat or dog? Maybe Zebra. Shucks, I don't know, but... Read More
Profitable day traders recognize that momentum trading is among the... Read More
Have you ever thought of investing? Do you have a... Read More
When it comes to buying a stock or mutual fund... Read More
For the year 2000 we have seen hundreds of mutual... Read More
There are major differences between trading stocks and trading futures.... Read More
Stocks & Mutual Fund |