With the promise of making money quick and legal, several people get lured into all kinds of investments and Ponzi schemes. As you will have heard, most of these kinds of practice fail, making thousands of victims all over the world.
However, the good news comes when the victims get approached by a SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corp.) representative, who informs them that the funds are in the process of being recovered. SIPC is an US federally mandated corporation that backs investments by ensuring that the victims receive the money and securities held by failed brokerage firms.
However, scammers claim to be SIPC officials the moment they get their hands on a list with investment victims. This way, they’ll get the victims to pay an up-front “processing” fee, along with sending a filled-out form with all the personal information!
How to avoid: SIPC never requires an up-front fee. Also, they have all your information available from the failed brokerage firm’s files. If in doubt, contact SIPC directly.