Investing in the Gulf

The SEC website has an alert warning investors about stock scams related to the BP's oil disaster in the Gulf: Oil Spill Stock Scams—Don’t Get Cleaned Out by False Cleanup Claims.  It's hard to be surprised that some shady people are trying to cash in on this disaster.  This kind of unfortunate behavior regularly occurs following a tragedy, as it did after Hurricane Katrina, the September 11 attacks, and many others.    

To help avoid such scams, the SEC provides a number of suggestions for potential investors: (1) Investigate before you invest, (2) Find out who sent the message, (3) Find out where the stock trades, (4) Read a company’s SEC filings, and (5) Exercise some skepticism. I certainly can't argue with any of these, but if I were making the list, I think I'd start with the last one.   

--Josh Fershee