You Know What They Say About a Free Lunch

By Michelle Singletary
Thursday, September 6, 2007

I'm not quite ready for membership in AARP, but increasingly I've been getting invitations in the mail for me and my husband to attend investment seminars that promise to help us ensure we have enough money to retire.

The notices use all the right buzzwords. But I have a special place for those invitations -- the trash.

You may be promised a free lunch or dinner, but the meal may cost you much more. The meetings follow the same form: Herd in people. Scare them to death with tales of how they won't have enough money when they retire. Or promise amazing returns or access to investment products available only to a select group.

The hairs on my arm stand up when I hear such promotions. They just sound too good to be true. The people involved are too slick, too hyper and too eager to show you a special way to wealth. Yet for every one of us who can sense a scam a mile away, there are others whose radars aren't tuned in as well. It's not that these people are stupid. They are just too trusting. In fact, one survey showed that investment-fraud victims demonstrated a better understanding of basic financial literacy than non-victims.

So how do you get people to trust less and verify more?

At an upcoming investor summit in Washington for seniors, regulators will try to help participants steer clear of investment schemes by dissecting how the scams operate.

"We will be focusing on educating people about the persuasive tactics promoters use," said John Gannon, senior vice president of investor education for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

Gannon said the swindlers are skilled at using all kinds of tactics designed to put people in a "psychological haze" that prevents them from spotting a scam or that a certain investment product isn't appropriate for them.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is hosting the seminar in conjunction with AARP, FINRA and the North American Securities Administrators Association. It will begin at 10 a.m. Monday at SEC headquarters in the District. If you can't attend, you can listen live via a webcast on the SEC's Web site: http://www.sec.gov. If you want to attend, you have to preregister. Registration information is available at http://www.sec.gov/spotlight/seniors/seniors_summit.htm, or call 800-732-0330. There is also a luncheon, but seating is limited.

The summit also will include the release of a joint report from the regulators participating in the summit. They examined 110 firms offering "free lunch" investment seminars aimed at seniors.

Among the common tactics used to bamboozle seniors:

? Phantom riches. Promoters dangle the prospect of great wealth or unbelievable returns. They get people excited about an investment that is guaranteed to produce.

? Source credibility . They try to build credibility with you by claiming to be with a reputable firm or to have special credentials or experience. Often the most basic check will reveal that the promoter isn't licensed.

? Social consensus. They will tell people that other savvy or rich investors have invested in the product. The dialogue might go something like this: "I know it's a lot of money, but I'm in it and so is my mom and half her church, and it's worth every dime."

? Scarcity . The promoter creates a false sense of urgency by claiming that there is a limited supply or that only certain investors are allowed. They try to get you to sign up at the seminar. Don't do it. Always take the time to think about and investigate any offer.

WISE Senior Services in Los Angeles, using a grant from the NASD Investor Education Foundation, analyzed hundreds of transcripts of undercover tapes from these investment seminars. The nonprofit group found more than 1,100 separate instances where influence tactics were used on consumers. The study found that investment fraud, more than any other type of fraud examined, had the greatest variety of pitches. Researchers found the tactics changed depending on the individual.

"Customization of pitches underscores the importance of consumers becoming aware of how their particular psychological characteristics and tendencies are exploited in order to defend against it," the study concluded.

In other words, you've got to know your weaknesses. If you're not the type of person who likes to ask questions, don't go to one of these seminars alone.

Here's something else to think about that the investor fraud study found: You make yourself more vulnerable by your willingness to attend a "free" seminar on investing.

The fact is it's not enough to trust that you will spot a fraud just because you know the old adage: "If it's too good to be true, it probably is." That warning is useless because the con men and women are so good at making something that sounds too good seem so true.

? On the air: Michelle Singletary discusses personal finance Tuesdays on NPR's "Day to Day" program and online athttp://www.npr.org.She also has a personal finance call-in show that airs Sundays on XM Satellite Radio, Channel 169 "The Power," at 8 to 10 p.m.

? By mail: Readers can write to her at The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.

? By e-mail:singletarym@washpost.com.

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