Beware of Green Energy Scams

With all of the talk these days about the need to find alternative energy sources, there is a real demand for “Green” energy. There are a lot of legitimate entrepreneurs out there looking for investors to put up money to fund new energy-saving environmentally-friendly ideas. With every legitimate entrepreneur however, comes a hundred scam artists also looking to make a buck from unsuspecting potential victims.

On December 29, 2009, FINRA, the organization tasked with regulating the financial services industry, issues an Investor Alert entitled, Save Your Greenbanks – Don’t Fall for Green Energy Scams. The Investor Alert provides a great discussion on ways to avoid becoming a victim of these scams.

Some tips include:
1. Beware of investment opportunities promises high returns;
2. Beware of unsolicited recommendations communicated through methods such as faxes, emails, text messages, etc.;
3. Don’t invest in things you do not understand.

The most unfortunate part of these scams is that when something goes wrong, there is rarely a chance to recover the losses from the fraudster because they are almost always insolvent. As a result, the best approach is to stay away altogether.