- Viatical investment scams
According to the Department of California Corporations, "Viatical investment companies solicit investors to buy interests in the death benefits provided for in life insurance policies of terminally ill patients, including AIDS and cancer patients. The insured receives a discounted percentage of the death benefits in cash to allegedly improve the quality of their lives in the final days. Investors get their share of the death benefit when the insured dies, less a brokerage fee for the viatical investment broker." These investments are extremely speculative because of the uncertainty involved in determining when some is going to die.
- High tech products and services
There has been an increase in the number of illegal offerings of high tech investments. These offerings promise high profits with no risk. These investments include investing in 900 number investments, Internet service providers and high tech virtual reality shopping malls.
- Entertainment
As with high tech products, some scamsters are promoting investments in movie deals and other entertainment products with promises of guaranteed profits without disclosing the risk.
- Ponzi/pyramid schemes/bunco
Ponzi schemes occur where tremendous rates of return are paid to initial investors out of funds from later investors, who end up losing all of their money when they wish a return of their investments. A pyramid scheme involves the collection of money from individuals at the bottom (new investors) to pay the initial investors at the top. The object of the scheme is to recruit new members rather than on selling the product or service. Finally there is the prime bank investments scheme. Here the promoter tells the innocent investor that there are certain prime international banks that pay exorbitant interest rates. These investments according to the promoter are quite secret and only available to select investors. The investor lends his or her money only to find out that there are no such banks and that he or she lost all of his or her money.