The Fraud College is a Utah organization that educates members of the LDS church about affinity fraud and other types of investment scams. Affinity fraud occurs when a scam is sold to a group of people who have a common interest or belong to the same organization (LDS church). For example, Bernie Madoff used country clubs and synagogues to market his Ponzi scheme.

The close-knit Mormon community has long been a target of scam artists. Scam operators make sure a few high visibility Mormon investors have a positive financial experience. Then they use them as references to increase their credibility. This strategy has been very successful because Mormons trust other Mormons, in particular high visibility Mormons.

Don’t buy an investment product just because someone you know or respect has also bought the product. You still have to do your homework!