Investors face two different risks at the same time: ordinary market volatility and the risk that someone is using deception to gain access to their money. During World Investor Week 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Investor Education and Assistance joined the CFTC, FINRA, NASAA, NFA, and SIPC in urging investors to prepare for both.
The agencies’ October 5, 2026 Investor Bulletin focuses on investor resilience, digital deception, and investment scams. Its central point is worth remembering: protecting an investment portfolio involves more than selecting investments. It also requires a plan for unexpected financial events and a healthy skepticism toward unsolicited investment opportunities.
Source: World Investor Week 2026 Investor Bulletin
A Resilient Investment Plan Begins Before a Market Decline
Market fluctuations can affect every portfolio. Investors cannot eliminate that risk, but they can reduce the pressure to make a bad decision at the wrong time.
Maintaining an emergency fund is one important step. The SEC bulletin encourages investors to consider saving three to six months of living expenses. Accessible savings can help a household manage a job loss, home repair, medical expense, or other unexpected event without relying on high-interest debt or selling investments prematurely.
Diversification also remains important. A portfolio concentrated in one company, industry, or investment product can be exposed to substantial risk if that investment performs poorly. Spreading investments across and within asset classes does not guarantee against loss, but it can reduce the effect of one investment’s decline on the overall portfolio.
Investors should also be cautious about chasing recent performance. Periodic investing and a long-term plan may help investors avoid the impulse to buy after prices have risen sharply or sell during a downturn. The right strategy depends on the investor’s objectives, time horizon, liquidity needs, tax position, and tolerance for risk.
Relationship Investment Scams Often Begin With Trust
One of the most concerning fraud patterns identified in the bulletin is the relationship investment scam. These scams often start with an unexpected text message, social-media contact, or message through an online app. The scammer may spend weeks or months building a friendship or romantic connection before mentioning an investment opportunity.
The proposed investment may be displayed on a professional-looking website or mobile application that shows supposed account balances and trading gains. Those numbers may be entirely fictitious. In some cases, the scammer permits a small initial withdrawal to gain the investor’s trust, then encourages increasingly larger deposits.
The warning signs become more apparent when the investor attempts to withdraw a meaningful amount of money. The platform may demand additional funds for supposed taxes, fees, or account requirements. It may stop responding entirely. Investors should never send money, login credentials, or personal financial information to an investment opportunity introduced by an unknown online contact.
Artificial Intelligence Can Make Impersonation More Convincing
Fraudsters are also using artificial intelligence to make fake messages, websites, documents, and voice communications appear legitimate. A caller may claim to represent the SEC, FINRA, a brokerage firm, or an investment adviser. An email may use a company logo, polished language, and what appears to be regulatory paperwork.
That appearance is not proof that the communication is genuine. Be particularly cautious if an unsolicited caller or message requests an account number, password, PIN, digital-wallet private key, seed phrase, or payment. If someone claims to be with a regulator or financial institution, independently find the organization’s public telephone number and contact it directly. Do not rely on a number or link supplied in the suspicious communication.
The bulletin also warns that fraudsters have used real or fabricated SEC-related filings to create a false appearance of legitimacy. A Form D filing or an exempt reporting adviser filing does not, by itself, establish that an investment is legitimate, that the promoter is registered with the SEC, or that an investor’s money was actually invested as promised.
Verify the Investment Professional Before You Invest
Before sending money or acting on an investment recommendation, investors can use the following official resources to verify the professional and the firm:
These resources can help investors confirm registration status and identify disciplinary history. Investors can also review the firm’s disclosures and ask questions about the investment’s risks, fees, liquidity, conflicts of interest, and suitability for their financial circumstances.
Warning signs may include pressure to act quickly, a promise of unusually consistent or outsized returns, reluctance to provide written disclosures, a request to send money to a personal account, or an inability to independently verify the investment or the person promoting it.
What To Do If You Suspect Investment Fraud
Do not send additional money in an effort to unlock an account or recover an earlier investment. Preserve the available evidence, including text messages, emails, screenshots, account statements, wire instructions, promotional materials, and the names of everyone involved.
Investors may contact the SEC’s Investor Assistance line at (800) 732-0330 or report suspected misconduct to the SEC, FINRA, or the appropriate state securities regulator. The FINRA Securities Helpline for Seniors is (844) 574-3577.
The Bottom Line
Market losses do not necessarily mean that fraud or misconduct occurred. But a loss should not be dismissed as ordinary volatility when the investment was sold through deception, an adviser failed to disclose material risks, or a broker made recommendations that were unsuitable for the investor.
If you believe a financial advisor, broker, or other investment professional failed to explain an investment’s risks, made misleading statements, or recommended an unsuitable investment, the securities fraud attorneys at Schwartz Law Firm may be able to help. If you have questions about your potential claim or need assistance from an investment fraud lawyer, please contact us at 866-618-0545 or email Matthew Schwartz directly at mschwartz@tslfirm.com. Our firm represents investors in FINRA arbitration and securities-related matters involving financial advisor negligence, misrepresentations and omissions, over-concentration, and investment fraud. Contact Schwartz Law Firm for a free consultation regarding potential investment losses and securities-related claims.
Matthew Schwartz
Matthew Schwartz represents clients harmed by lawyers, accountants, insurance professionals, real estate agents, brokers, financial advisors, and other trusted professionals. He handles Florida litigation and nationwide FINRA arbitration. He has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® and named to the Best Law Firms® list.
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