The fraudulent schemes include 168 investment-related schemes and 94 non-investment schemes, such as those pitching investments in medical technology and healthcare firms.
Typical schemes involve membership units in general or limited partnerships, penny stocks, and other investment vehicles such as private placement offerings, initial coin offerings and other crypto investments, and crowdfunding.
NASAA says that scams during a crisis are nothing new and typically focus on fear and anxiety by promoting ‘safe returns’ outside of the stock market and economy.
Cryptos and other digital investments are often used due to the relatively low knowledge among retail investors.
Passive income?
While not all of the ‘opportunities’ are illegal, they are generally highly speculative with claims of regular “passive income” attracting hopeful investors.
