"I've never met anybody who has consistently made money speculating by doing options and those types of investments," Wheeler said. "I had one client who was doing some day trading, and he had a system he was sure was going to make him all of the money he needed. He came back a year later and I asked him if he was still doing that. And he said, 'No, it didn't work out.' We use the adage that if it sounds too good to be true, it is."

The third most prevalent scam in Utah targets senior citizens through "free meal seminars."

Seniors are sent invitations by mail inviting them to a free seminar and meal, where they will be told how to protect their retirement future.

After the seminar, promoters push one-on-one meetings that are designed to sell annuities.

"Annuities aren't themselves scams, but they are being sold to a lot of people in situations where it is not suitable or not the best investment for people," Klein said. "And they carry very high fees and in many cases a long tail, anywhere from seven to 15 years, where you have to hold it and if you take any money out you suffer humongous withdrawal penalties.

"When you sell something to somebody who is 80 years old and it has a 10-year holding period, if something happens, they can't take their money out."

The bottom line, Klein said, is that investors must understand that promises of higher returns mean higher risk. Klein said investors should ask themselves, if there is so much profit to be made with no risk, why are they borrowing money from me and not a bank?

Investors should always find out if the person offering an investment is licensed by calling the Division of Securities at 801-530-6606. Stock offerings must be registered with the division, and promoters must offer a written prospectus summarizing the investment.

Other prevalent scams include hot tip stock recommendations by e-mail, foreign currency trading, oil and gas investments and prime bank schemes.

"People want to believe that there is a way to make a lot of money and have no risk," Klein said. "If there is no risk, then there is no reason that borrowers have to pay a high interest rate to get money."

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com