The website, located at www.bbb.org\/smartinvesting<\/a>, combines the consumer outreach of BBB with the extensive knowledge of FINRA.<\/p>\n Gerri Walsh, FINRA Foundation President, said that the campaign would help investors protect themselves from fraud. \u00a0The website offers resources to help investors detect investment scams.<\/p>\n Investment fraud causes serious harm in North America. \u00a0Consumers in the United States and Canada were defrauded of over $1.5 billion by scammers in 2011, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. \u00a0FINRA conducted a telephone survey that found that many investors show overconfidence about their ability to detect fraud. \u00a0This was especially true of investors in the baby-boomer generation, who are often the target of scams. (more…)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation has joined forces with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to launch a new website, BBB Smart Investing, which is intended to help investors avoid unlicensed brokers and fraudulent investment schemes. The…<\/span><\/p>\n