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Affinity fraud

   Also found in: Wikipedia 0.02 sec.
affinity fraud
Investment scams that target members of identifiable groups, including elderly, ethnic, professional, and religious groups. Perpetrators of affinity fraud are often either members of the targeted group or individuals who enlist the assistance of leaders in order to exploit the trust of members of the group. See also pyramid.

Affinity fraud. Affinity fraud occurs when a dishonest person plays on your affiliation with a group -- such as a house of worship, social club, support group, charity, or veterans' group -- as a way to win your confidence in order to sell you something worthless or trick you into handing over cash.

The scammer may actually be a member of the group or may just pretend to be.

Affinity fraud is one the most difficult scams to protect yourself against because being suspicious of colleagues can undermine the reason you belong to a group.



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Affinity fraud involves con artists preying on people who belong to a group or association based on a shared cultural heritage, religious beliefs, or professional and social interests.
"In an affinity fraud, the perpetrators say, `You can trust us because we're like you,'" says Susan Wyderko, director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) office of investor education and assistance, of the practice in which scam artists use similarities in backgrounds and situations to capture prospective targets.
Corporations' initial focus will be in the greater Los Angeles area, a location where investor and consumer education is critical to combat affinity fraud, investment scams that prey upon members of ethnic or religious communities, the elderly, or professional groups.
 
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