Francisco Faraco's Perspective on Avoiding Broker Imposter Schemes via FINRA BrokerCheck
Although impersonation scams are not new, they are becoming more sophisticated with each passing day. In February 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reported an increase in cyber-related incidents involving fake websites that use the personal information of real industry professionals. In response to the increasing number of impersonation scams, the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission warned investors about this issue. FINRA Brokercheck Francisco Faraco , CFA Charterholder and Teaching Assistant in Financial Mathematics at the University of Chicago for the Master of Science, believes these schemes can be hard to spot unless you have the necessary knowledge. Here are a few tips to help identify the fakes. Website By creating fake websites, these fraudsters imitate the operations of real investment professionals, collecting the personal information of potential customers over the phone. Aside from the usual mistakes, such as poor grammar, investors s