⚠️ As the year-end approaches, state securities regulators are raising alarms about a surge in investment fraud activities. The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI)’s Securities Division recently released a list of “the 12 top investor threats,” emphasizing that scammers are increasingly exploiting fear of missing out (FOMO), new technologies, and the urgency of the holiday season to deceive investors.
The data reveals that while scammers are using new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) to dress up their schemes, their nefarious goal remains the same: separating victims from their hard-earned money.
📊 The TDCI's guidance is based on extensive enforcement findings in collaboration with the North American Securities Administrators Association, which reflect thousands of investigations and significant financial harm to investors across the country.
🛑 Among the 12 warnings issued, the first highlights affinity or “pig butchering” schemes that combine online relationships with fraudulent investment platforms. Other warnings address deepfake impersonations using AI-generated voices or videos, phantom AI trading bots promising guaranteed returns, and digital asset and crypto fraud through unregistered offerings. Additionally, there are alerts about fake AI equity pitches, social media lures, short-form video hype on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, text and WhatsApp traps, scams targeting older investors, account takeovers, website and app spoofing, and unregistered solicitors presenting professional-looking pitches.
👩💼 TDCI Assistant Commissioner for the Securities Division, Elizabeth Bowling, emphasized that
Fraudsters are pitching new investments that often have nothing to do with latest tech developments and instead play on consumers’ fear of missing out.
🛡 To protect themselves, regulators advise investors to independently verify registrations and to be cautious of unsolicited opportunities.