It's just before dinner and the phone rings. Your life insurance agent is on the line and thankfully he's not trying to sell you something. Instead of trying to get you to increase your insurance coverage, he's got a better idea.
Promissory notes are the hottest thing on the investment scam cycle nationwide right now.
Last week, federal and state regulators estimated that more than 3,000 American investors were victims of this fraud last year alone. The scam has reached epidemic proportions in California where in the past year, the Department of Corporations has issued 433 cease and desist orders for the illegal and fraudulent offer and sale of promissory notes. The department has taken enforcement action against 185 individuals and 45 businesses for unlicensed broker dealer activity. Con artists find start-up companies in need of money and offer to help them sell promissory notes, in exchange for a cut of the cash. The con artists recruit independent insurance agents to sell the bogus notes, which often are guaranteed by a fake insurance company.