Wisebread is a pretty great website. They post tons of articles on saving money, being frugal, finding deals, getting more out of life for less cash, and occasionally, scams.

They ran a good one not too long ago: 5 Sure-Fire Signs of an Investment Scam. It’s a topic I haven’t explored too deeply yet, and it’s one I’d like to write more about. For the time being, go read their article and learn from it.

Now think about some iffy investment “opportunities” you’ve heard of. How many of Wisebread’s signs did it fall under?

My favorite investment scam is the Iraqi Dinar scam that’s been running riot for several years (and I mean “favorite” in the most sarcastic way possible, by the way). For the most part, these schemes hit all five points.

Absolute promises that the currency will revaluate? Check. “Opportunity” for beyond-massive profit, yet being offered to everyone in the universe equally? Got it. Affinity groups? Yes, you hear about this stuff in social circles. Business practices? Well, selling a supposed investment without an actual license to do so by calling it a “collector’s item?” How sketchy do they have to be? And look at the comments on any article exposing this scam for what it is: hundreds of people insisting that the author (even when said author is an expert writing for a credible source) is the biggest idiot that ever lived in the history of ever. Some of those may be victims clinging to hope, but a lot of them are people running Iraqi Dinar scams attempting to discredit any suggestion that what they’re doing is tantamount to fraud.