Since 2011, victims of investment fraud schemes have lost more than $20 billion, according to the FBI.
The agency, which is working with the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies, said the scams run the gamut from guaranteeing high returns to providing falsified investment documents to victims.
Victims were bilked out of retirement savings, military survivor benefits, family death settlements and money set aside for college tuition and mortgage payments, the agencies noted.
Nearly 800 defendants have been charged, tried, pleaded or sentenced in about 500 federal prosecutions involving investor fraud since 2011, according to the Justice Department's Criminal Division.
Investor fraud summits are being held nationwide this year by the FBI, Department of Justice and other agencies to offer tops to consumers to protect them from fraud. The summits are part of the ongoing efforts of President Barack Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Forces Securities and Fraud Working Group.
The SEC, which is partnering with the FFETF, said it has charged said 887 individuals and entities in 359 actions involving retail investor fraud. Nearly $9.7 billion has been alleged lost by more than 1.2 million investors in those cases.
