Secretary of State Carnahan is warning Missourians to be aware of an upswing in scam artists perpetrating “get-rich-quick” schemes throughout the state. These take the form of seminars teaching people how to make more money in the stock market; buy, sell or “flip” real estate; or other so-called “wealth enhancement” courses. Many of these course start out costing very little, but the participants are told they must take additional course to learn more, and those courses have much higher fees. Many of these scams target senior citizens, who end up feeling embarrassed and ashamed of being taken. Secretary Carnahan says that on the contrary, anyone who feels they have been taken should call her Investior Protection Hotline (1-800-721-7996) and report the problem. In the time she has been in office, the Secretary says her office has been able to recover around 10 (B) billion dollars from scams like these. More information is also available at the Secretary of State’s online Investor Protection Center–www.MissouriSafeSavings.com
