A few weeks ago the securities industry watchdog, FINRA, announced that it had received reports that scam artists had been calling the public and impersonating FINRA executes. This week, FINRA warned investors about a new scam: fraudsters who impersonate brokers and financial advisors.
Fraud Involving Broker Impersonation
According to FINRA’s recent Investor Alert, there have been recent reports that unregistered individuals have been impersonating registered investment professionals in the hope of scamming investors out of money. Evidently, the fraud relies on a fake version of a FINRA CRD or BrokerCheck Report. Legitimate BrokerReports are a detailed record of a registered investment professional’s career history and company affiliations; they also include any customer complaints or disputes that advisor may have been involved in.
The phony reports FINRA has gotten hold of used a legitimate broker and CRD number, but the company that broker worked for was unregistered. The solicitation included other documents and materials, along with a request for investors who were interested in working with this broker t provide a photo of their driver’s license and other personal information.
Tips for Keeping Your Money Safe from Fraud
In order to combat the fraud, FINRA suggested the following tips to keep your money safe from fraud:
