Check a firm on BrokerCheck
Look a firm up on FINRA BrokerCheck and compare its real contact details with the ones you were given.
Investment fraud does not look like fraud. It looks like a good brochure, a polite person who calls back when they said, and a rate a little better than the banks.
Never absurdly better. Absurd figures make people suspicious; a rate that is merely rather good makes people feel shrewd.
Key points
- Look a firm up on FINRA BrokerCheck
- Compare the contact details it holds with the ones you were given
- Know which register covers which kind of firm, because there is no single one
- Call the number on the back of your card if anything has already been paid
What to remember
- Not “does this firm exist”, but “do my details match the record”.
- Call the number on BrokerCheck, not the number you were given.
Try this
Type brokercheck.finra.org into the address bar and look up a firm you have heard of. Find the page showing the contact details it holds.
Practice: Check a firm on BrokerCheck. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.