There are plenty of ways that investment scams are promoted to unsuspecting victims.

Here is look at some of the ways that investment scams are carried out:-

. Telemarketing or 'cold calling' - The voice on the telephone sounds very professional and convincing. They promote high interest for your investments.

. Spam mail or email - Professionalized e-mails are sent along with a link to yet another professionalized web site, advertising good return on investing in stocks.

. Real estate scams- Scammers profit from selling real estate at very high prices and rates.

. Betting scams and Investment software - Unreliable software packages that predict the winning of a sport or in gambling, are often frauds. There are no money back guarantees or refunds.

Due to the economic crisis and the rise in job lay-off's, people all over the world are desperate to find a job and these investment opportunities are ideal as some of these people who have been laid-off are paid redundancy packages. They invest the lump sum in return for high interest rates. One should be very careful when investing money and should familiarize themselves with warning signs of an investment scam. Here are some tips to help you spot an investment scam:-

. Don't invest in business opportunities and franchises that don't exist. Find out about the franchises because there are plenty of franchises that are mushrooming everyday and are frauds.

. Never believe a tempting offer when you get an email or telephone call that tells you that you can earn a high return when you invest a certain amount of money.

. Check if the company you wish to invest is registered or licensed.

. You should not be pressured or pushed into making a decision whether to invest or not.

. You should not be given a deadline.

. Read between the lines. This something most people never do. You should read the fine print on the website or the terms and conditions if you are sent a contractual document to sign.

. Do your research. This is the best way to find out if you dealing with a genuine entity or a scam.

. Some emails or letters insist that you should never give any information to others about the investment offer. This is a sure sign that it's a scam.

. Don't give personal information over the phone.

. The name, address and the physical office of the investment company is not accessible.

. Request you not to seek legal advice since its basic routine procedure.

. You get an email asking for personal information such as social security numbers and identification numbers

. Ask as many question you want and clarify if the investment is genuine or not.

If this is not enough, check out some of the scam alert sites that are maintained by the government authorities in each country. Get a list of scams that are in operation so that you can avoid them at all cost. You don't need to be one of those one in a thousand people who get caught to these scams and fund the top man behind the whole scam. Make the most of his retirement in the Bahamas or some such exotic destination.