 Each year, thousands of people across the nation lose millions to cold call investment frauds or boiler room frauds as they're known. These are everyday Australians losing their hard earned savings to scammers with links to organised crime and drugs. These scams are all quite different but work on the same premise. They appear as a legitimate investment company with a promise of a high return. If you invest your money in their scheme and purchase their software or system, you'll end up far wealthier than when you started and often in a very short period of time. They use hard sell emotionally based and high pressure tactics to lure you into a one off or limited opportunity. The reality is there is no scheme or system or investment. You've literally handed over money you'll never ever see again. These groups purchase marketing lists, you know those competition entry forms or surveys you fill out with boxes to tick asking if you want to be contacted by companies offering your promotions. Your details are then sold to these syndicates who contact you direct by phone or email. They offer a limited investment opportunity and a very high return for a very small outlay. They may have a slick salesman willing to meet you, a website, a glossy brochure, these are all fake. So what they're promising you is generally well beyond what a regular market investment would give. The returns are simply not possible. Some scams have recently offered a 12 to 18% return per month, a 30% return per annum. One betting scheme even offered a $70,000 yield in one year for just a $1,000 outlay. To put things in perspective a more realistic return on investment for a balanced portfolio that is a mix of shares, property fixed interest and cash should earn around just 6 to 8% a year. You can see how their offerings would be quite attractive, but they are just not realistic in our current market situation. So what can you do to help? Well police are working with other agencies to help stop and prevent these crimes but we need your help. By being wise to these methods and scams we can all stop these scammers at the start and in their tracks. Hang up the phone and simply walk away.