Can you be conned? Doctors tell their money-losing tales of woe

Yes, you can, if you don't personally investigate your investments before you make them.

By Katherine Vogt, AMNews staff. Aug. 18, 2003.

Out of the blue one day, an orthopedic surgeon in North Carolina got a phone call promising an incredible investment opportunity. The pitchman told the physician about how he could buy wine, let its value appreciate and then sell it for a windfall. Impressed, the physician invested $160,000.

In retrospect, the surgeon said, it sounded too good to be true. And it was.

The physician got back just a fraction of what was promised before coming to the conclusion that he had been scammed. Instead of his promised return of up to 40%, he was out nearly $130,000. "It was like selling us the Brooklyn Bridge," said the surgeon, who did not want to be named.

Now he and scores of other physicians and dentists are trying to get their money back from the company behind the offer, which is under investigation by securities regulators in a handful of states.

These investors are not alone.

Physicians are frequently targeted by unscrupulous predators looking to poach a quick and easy buck through an investment scam.

Doctors, with relatively high incomes and little time to monitor their financial endeavors, are seen as choice prey. They are also viewed by some as reluctant to admit that they don't understand how something works.

And with many physicians trying new investment strategies in hopes of speeding up their retirement or paying off their school loans early, there is a steady supply of fresh investment recruits who are bedazzled by slick marketing tactics and false promises of fat returns.