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claims of high returns with minimal risks;
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securities being offered by unregistered investment professionals;
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aggressive sales tactics, including those that create a false sense of urgency on behalf of the investor;
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“sloppy offering documents” or the absence of any offering documents;
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offerings that do not request investors’ net worth, which is required information for many types of private securities offerings;
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offerings in which no person other than the sales person seems to be involved;
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issuers of securities that have offices or mailing addresses in states in which they have no legitimate business operations;
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failure of the issuer to be in good standing in its state of incorporation or formation;
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unsolicited investment offers; and
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suspicious or unverifiable biographies of managers or promoters.
The Office of Investor Education and Advocacy also advised prospective investors in private placements to take the following steps to protect themselves:
Issuers and their agents should consider the guidance set forth in the Alert when undertaking private offerings of securities in order to avoid raising investor concerns.