Watch out for investment scams

When you invest, you'll find that knowledge is power. The more you know about your investment choices, and who is offering them, the better prepared you'll be to make good decisions. And this diligence can also help protect you against investment scams.

How widespread is this activity? Consider this: Investment fraud losses totaled more than $4.5 billion in 2023, according to the FBI's Internet Crime Report.

Here are some common types of scams:

• Cryptocurrency – Not all cryptocurrency offers are scams, but many are. The scammers will contact you via social media, claiming they've made a lot of money in crypto and are willing to help you do the same. They may direct you to a website or app to invest, but the "company" taking your money may not even exist, and, after taking your money, may disappear.
• Investment programs – These programs claim to have "proven" strategies that can enable you to get rich by investing in financial products. But these strategies are dubious at best and can cost you thousands of dollars that could otherwise go into an investment plan based on your goals, risk tolerance and time horizon.
• Real estate – Typically, a real estate scam tries to get you to invest in a "world-class" or "luxury" property development, but these properties may take years to build, if they're built at all. Also, various real estate "seminars" claim they can teach you how to get wealthy by buying and selling real estate, but these programs are expensive and usually worthless.
• Gold and other precious metals – Scammers who call themselves "rare coins" merchants may try to sell you gold coins, bullion or other types of precious metals, claiming that these assets will always go up in value (which isn't true) and that "now is the best time to act." You can find legitimate ways to invest in precious metals, possibly through mutual funds, but you'll need to determine whether these assets can be an appropriate part of your investment portfolio.

So, how can you avoid these scams? Here ae some suggestions from the Federal Trade Commission:

• Don't be pushed into snap decisions. Scammers will pressure you to act quickly because "space is limited" in an investment offering or a "special deal" won't last long. If someone won't give you time to consider an offer, it's not worth considering.
• Be suspicious of "risk-free" claims. All investments carry risk, and no variable investments can claim to provide "guaranteed returns." If an individual or organization downplays the risk of an investment and doesn't want to provide risk disclosures, just walk away.
• Ask about licensing or registration. Legitimate investment professionals must be registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and be licensed by your state's securities regulator before they can sell you any investment product. You can check the status of an individual or firm by using FINRA's BrokerCheck tool at brokercheck.fina.org.
• Do some research. You can search online for the name of the company or individual offering you an investment opportunity. By entering terms such as "review," "scam," "fraud" or "complaint," you may well find that other people have experienced problems or been victimized.

To achieve your financial goals, you'll likely need to invest for decades — so, be wary of scammers who claim to offer a shortcut to success.

Vermont National Guard Members Depart From North Adams

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
04:20PM / Friday, June 05, 2026

About 50 people waved flags to the see the Guardsmen off on their bus. The members were staying in North Adams because of a lack of hotel rooms in Bennington, Vt.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Residents came together Friday to see some Vermont National Guard members off.

 

The American Legion Riders organized a send off for a group of 75 or so Guard members who were staying at Hotel Downstreet.

 

"We are going to escort them to the Bennington Armory," Riders President Mike Lewis said. "They are going to gear up there, and then I am not sure where they are going. I don’t even know if they are all going to the same place."

 

Fifty or so people met in the Hotel Downstreet parking lot to show their appreciation. They waved flags and held signs. A bagpiper was also present.

 

The Riders contacted the Fire Department who helped organize the send off. North Adams Police cruisers and Northern Berkshire EMS were also on site to help see the bus off.

 

Lewis said there was not enough rooms in Bennington for the National Guard members. He added because of the trend to use vacant hotel rooms as low-income housing, the group had to look toward North Adams.

 

It's not clear where these Guard were off to, but about 500 members of 3-172 Infantry Battalion were expected to go to the Middle East with U.S. Central Command. According to Vermont Digger, this deployment was scheduled prior to the strikes on Iran.