Losing money in the stock market could be devastating. Sometimes the money you lost was all that you had. In such circumstances, it is highly likely that you could fall prey to a dishonest stock loss recovery firm.
Apparently, companies like Cold Spring Advisory have found a way to dupe troubled investors and make some easy money, and they have been succeeding in fooling many victims of stock loss frauds. As a matter of fact, Cold Spring Advisory is a stock loss recovery firm that has made a lot of news in the past few years, only not the notoriety they wanted. The Internet is flooded with complaints against this company. Take a look at the complaints made on Complaints Board, Pissed Consumer, Ripoff Report, and Scamalot to get a bird’s eye view about the workings of this firm. If you are intrigued and want to know more about this firm by searching the Internet, then don’t fall for the flagrant self-promoting press releases published by the company. Remember what you see is not always what you get. This client lost $6,000 paid in advance to the Cold Spring Advisory, and he was not the only one. The mistake that this troubled investor did by trusting a firm that demands an upfront fees is quite common. In fact, GetSmarterAboutMoney lists advance fee scams as one of the most common investment scams. Looking at the increasing investment recovery scams, FINRA has warned investors and suggested them to conduct web searches about the organizations or individuals who contact them to recover the money lost in investment frauds. So, follow FINRA’s advice, act smart and don’t get fooled by investment scammers.
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Nothing in the world is impossible. Not even being safe from investment recovery scams. But, what is it that really needs to be done in order to avoid an investment recovery scam? Let’s find out!
Money up Front? Have questions to ask? Go ahead and ask them all before hiring a stock loss recovery firm. The minute they say they can win your case, and then proceed to ask for an upfront payment -- even if it seems reasonable, like for filing fees --, you’re likely being scammed. Talk to multiple recovery firms and if there is a real winnable case, they will take it on contingency -- if they don’t win, you pay nothing! Research to the Rescue More than just losing your case, you might think, ah, so I lost the case. However, if you get in engaged with a scam company, they can not only lose the case, but also leave you liable to additional losses. In a case of Jay R. Simon vs Aegis Capital Corp (and others), the claim was for $29,000. He may not have had a winnable case either way, but he was doomed because the company representing him didn’t really know what they were doing. In another case the claimant sought $123,000 is losses, and in losing the case the claimant had to “payout” another approx. $50,000 in damages and costs. Visit with multiple firms to see if your claim is valid. If it is, the majority of them will want to represent the case. if none do, then there likely isn’t a case. Do homework about the people involved in the company Start with FINRA BrokerCheck to see if they’ve been brokers, and if so if there were sanctions against them. Search the firm on sites like Rip Off Report, Scamalot, Complaint Board and Pissed Off Consumer, as well as industry magazine articles, like Investment News. Even check blogs and let the rationality take over. Search about the company’s background and find out all that you can about its members. One such company which claims to provide excellent stock recovery services but seems to have a tricky background is Cold Spring Advisory, thanks to its members like Louis Ottimo who have a questionable history in the security industry. So, before you commit to any such firm, make sure you do the research that is vital. Be Wary of Praises That Seem Superficial You need to be extremely careful if you receive an unsolicited pitch from an investment recovery firm. When it comes to seeking investment recovery, you might tend to be much more emotional than you should be. So, don’t let your vulnerability guide you. Stick to the facts. We can all be gullible when people are telling us what we want to hear. Don’t be. , How do you know if you’re being hustled? It’s been well documented that some stock brokers and brokerage firms use disreputable tactics to earn extra commissions without fulfilling their fiduciary responsibility to you, the client. So you’ve lost money in the stock market and you suspect foul play. Now you need a stock loss recovery firm.
But beware, because they have their share of sharks too, and there are common traits to spot the scammers. Aggressive calls from out of the blue If you get a call from a stock loss recovery firm, the first thing that you need to wonder is “where did they get my number?” -- Since client records are private. There are some firms accused of getting client lists illegally, such as Cold Spring Advisory and Louis Ottimo, who are being sued by national Securities. Once firms get the client list from a firm, they systematically call that list to identify these that have had stock loses. They’ll offer to review the client's portfolio for free. Then, once they see what a “great” case you have, they aggressively push you to take action. Now you’re on the hook. Notes: some of these same people that offer to help you recover your stock loss are the same people that stole millions when they themselves were stock brokers. For example, Louis Ottimo was a stockbroker for eight years or so, until he was finally -- after many sanctions, liens and lawsuits -- barred from the industry by FINRA (the securities industry regulatory body, and has recently filed for personal bankruptcy to go with all the companies he has bankrupted through the years, many of those because of lost lawsuits. Advance fee requirement One of the most important red flags by disreputable stock loss recovery firms is upfront payment requests for filing and other fees. You’ll be assured that you’ll get it back from the award settlement because you have a great case. This is part of the scam: you don’t have a great case and they know it. So then need to earn before it goes to arbitration. In his article “How to Lose a Stock Loss Recovery Case with Cold Spring Advisory Group in Three Easy Steps” he shows that these scam companies don’t just lose cases because they are without merit, but in some instances because they are incompetent too. If they ask for an advance, walk away. There are too many other firms out there, reputable ones who will tell you if you really have a valid claim, and will represent it without upfront fees. Impressive, self-generated web resources To make their services look substantial, impostors will have plenty of glowing articles about the wonders they can achieve. The real stories will appear on legitimate news organizations. The scammers will merely be redisplays on websites of their own press releases, written to look like a news story. They’ll write a splashy story to look like breaking news, then pay to distribute it via a news wire. The websites -- some legitimate outlets -- that are members of that news distribution service will automatically display the press release. However, it is not news in that the content was never vetted by an editor for accuracy. For example, look at Cold Spring Advisory Group. There are plenty of article posts -- on credible news outlets, claiming they’ve recovered millions for their clients as the largest recovery company in the nation. However, when you look closely you’ll realize that these are all redisplayed press releases prepared by Cold Spring Advisory Group, or articles written by them (or their agents) and posted to sites that allow for guest posts, again, not vetted for truthfulness by any editor. Note: By the way, Cold Spring Advisory Group lists Michelle Ottimo, wide of Louis Ottimo as the Managing member and president, despite her not having any experience in the securities industry. But according to reporter according to reporter Brie Austin. Louis Ottimo is the de facto president, pulling the strings of the company from the shadows. Being deceived in the name of stock loss recovery is one of the most painful things that any investor would face. You had already lost money by misbehavior perpetrated by your stockbroker, or their firm. To then be scammed while you attempt to recoup those losses during a stock loss recovery action, can be demoralizing. Yet scammers are out there, lying in wait for you to step into their web of deceit. There are ways, however, that you can protect yourself from scammers. Here are a few tips.
Despite all the fear this post might stir within you. be assured that there are legitimate and honorable stock loss recovery firms available. You just have to be diligent and steadfast to find them.
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Recovering money from a previous stock investment is certainly a good idea, but it isn’t as easy as pie. The selection of a reliable and reputable stock loss recovery firm depends on a handful of tips. Let’s check these tips that can help you make a good choice while selecting a stock loss recovery firm.
Make sure that you reach to the company, not vice versa While searching for a stock loss recovery firm, it is important that you reach out to them. In case you are first approached by the firm, then it is something to be skeptical about, as broker client information is confidential data. If you look at Cold Spring Advisory, which claims to be one of the stock loss recovery firms, there are several complaints that can be found online about the information that it is allegedly buying to trap customers. In fact, one agitated customer even wrote that the company buys confidential information on consumers and then targets them to elicit their cooperation in suing firms that the consumer has bought securities through. With many such misconducts, complaints, and claims against Louis Ottimo and his family members, what appears to be is a vicious circle of people who are trying to rake in money through troubled investors, leaving them more helpless than they ever were. Do your research, it never disappoints When you look into investment recovery, there seems to be a presence of such firms like Cold Spring Advisory that are said to do their self-promotion for the sake of attracting innocent investors. There are press releases that are published by the company itself and they seem to be too far from reality when it comes to bringing back the money that customers lost in the stock market. Thus, while selecting a stock loss recovery firm, the more you know about it, the better it is. So, dig a little deeper and find if people like Louis Ottimo and his wife Michelle Ottimo are just making false claims or is there really something that makes you trust them with your hard-earned money. Suffering a loss may bring with it a lot of pain and an unceasing feeling of dismay, especially when you become a victim of stock fraud. So, what should you do in such a situation? Perhaps, search for a stock recovery company? But, can you trust any random company? Of course, not, and the existence of firms like Cold Spring Advisory is the reason behind this wariness.
What’s wrong with Cold Spring Advisory? Well, in just one word – everything! At least the research about this company on the Internet informs so. Overlooking the fact that some of the reviews about the company are sponsored and many of the press releases found about the company online are nothing but self-praise tactics, there are several distressed investors who have lodged formal complaints against the company and its owners Louis Ottimo, Michelle Ottimo for misconducts, as mentioned in the article Cold Spring advisory and Louis Ottimo Confronted. So, in case you were thinking to deal with this stock investment recovery company, beware! You may be falling in their trap. Do your research well and don’t weep over the lost money like other troubled investors have done after relying on this company. How does it lure you to disappointment? The owners and staff working at Cold Spring Advisory have devious plans. They claim to help investors regain their money, and charge a fee of thousands of dollars for doing so, while many a times the money never actually gets recovered. Allegedly, the company has also unlawfully sourced confidential information about customers, and then chased those innocent customers with aggressive sales strategies. Thus, if you want to retain your peace of mind, then be cautious enough while dealing with any stock investment recovery firm and stay away from companies like Cold Spring Advisory. |
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