Personal computers and desktop publishing software help scam artists produce slick promotional materials. Phone service providers can put toll-free telephone numbers in homes. Sales representatives should tell you the risk of particular investments. Be particularly suspicious of sales pitches that play down risk or portray written risk disclosures as routine formalities required by the government. Believe the risk disclosures that say you could lose your whole investment.
Scam artists lie.
Their success depends on having an airtight answer for everything. They inflate the costs and value of worthless investments. They promise you profits years down the road so you won't find out that your investment is a scam until long after they've disappeared with your money. Investing is risky business. Anyone who tells you an investment is likely to turn a profit quickly should have a basis for the claim.