“I took a stock tip from a good friend of mine who was a stockbroker,” says Stacy Johnson, publisher of MoneyTalksNews.com, who says his friend assured him this investment was a “sure thing.” Johnson says he invested $30,000 based on the advice and wound up losing everything.
“If there’s anyone who should have known better, it was me,” says Johnson, who had been a stockbroker for a decade before acting on the ill-fated tip.
“Any ‘investment’ a friend or family member recommends that could possibly earn the money back is likely way too risky to get involved in — and possibly not legal,” says Cristy Cash, director of counseling at the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central Oklahoma.
No matter how attractive an offer sounds, Johnson says, keep the following in mind: “If somebody knows how to make a quick buck, they’ll be making it, not telling you about it.”