If you are solicited by a company to purchase commodities, watch for the warning signs listed below:

• Avoid any company that predicts or guarantees large profits with little or no financial risk.
• Be wary of high-pressure tactics to convince you to send or transfer cash immediately to the firm, via overnight delivery companies, the internet, by mail, or otherwise.
• Be skeptical about unsolicited phone calls about investments from offshore salespersons or companies with which you are unfamiliar.
• Prior to purchasing:
  • Contact the CFTC.
  • Visit the CFTC's forex fraud web page.
  • Contact the National Futures Association to see whether the company is registered with the CFTC or is a members of the National Futures Association (NFA)?. You can do this easily by calling the NFA (800-621-3570 or 800-676-4NFA) or by checking the NFA's registration and membership information on its website at www.nfa.futures.org/basic/welcome.asp. While registration may not be required, you might want to confirm the status and disciplinary record of a particular company or salesperson.
  • Get in touch with other authorities, including your state's securities commissioner (www.nasaa.org), Attorney General's consumer protection bureau (www.naag.org/), the Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org) and the National Futures Association (www.nfa.futures.org).
  • Be sure you get all information about the company and verify that data, if possible. If you can, check the company's materials with someone whose financial advice you trust.
  • Learn all possible information about fees charged, and the basis for each of these charges.
  • If in doubt, don't invest. If you can't get solid information about the company, the salesperson, and the investment, you may not want to risk your money.

• Forex Scams
  Generally speaking, foreign currency futures and options contracts may be traded legally on an exchange or board of trade that has been approved by the CFTC.

• Forex Fraud
  Have you been solicited to trade foreign currency contracts (also known as "forex")?

• Understanding Legitimate Foreign Currency Operations
  Generally speaking, foreign currency futures and options contracts may be traded legally on an exchange or board of trade that has been approved by the CFTC.

• Stay Away From Opportunities That Sound Too Good to Be True
  Get-rich-quick schemes, including those involving foreign currency trading, tend to be frauds.

• Avoid Any Company that Predicts or Guarantees Large Profits
  Be extremely wary of companies that guarantee profits, or that tout extremely high performance. In many cases, those claims are false.

• Stay Away From Companies That Promise Little or No Financial Risk
  Be suspicious of companies that downplay risks or state that written risk disclosure statements are routine formalities imposed by the government.

• Don't Trade on Margin Unless You Understand What It Means
  Margin trading can make you responsible for losses that greatly exceed the dollar amount you deposited.

• Question Firms That Claim To Trade in the "Interbank Market
  Be wary of firms that claim that you can or should trade in the "interbank market," or that they will do so on your behalf.

• Be Wary of Sending or Transferring Cash on the Internet, By Mail
  Be especially alert to the dangers of trading on-line; it is very easy to transfer funds on-line, but often can be impossible to get a refund.

• Currency Scams Often Target Members of Ethnic Minorities
  Some currency trading scams target potential customers in ethnic communities, particularly persons in the Russian, Chinese and Indian immigrant communities, through advertisements in ethnic newspapers and television "infomercials".

• Warning Signs Of Commodity "Come-Ons"
  If you are solicited by a company to purchase commodities, watch for the warning signs listed below:

• More Information and Contacts
  Questions concerning this advisory may be addressed to the CFTC's Office of Public Affairs at (202) 418-5080.

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