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Investor Newsletter

February 12, 2026

Investor Education

Dating or Defrauding: A National Relationship Scam Awareness Campaign

NFA, together with over 15 federal, state and nongovernmental organizations, is raising awareness about relationship investment fraud during February. In 2025, $10 billion in relationship investment scam losses was reported to the FBI. These scams target people on dating sites, social media or messaging apps, where scammers spend significant time building trust before convincing their victims to trade cryptocurrency, gold or foreign currency.

Education is your best defense against these scams. The CFTC's recent press release and Romance Frauds Center webpage contain helpful resources for protecting yourself against common tactics utilized by relationship scammers. Additionally, NFA's BASIC system is a free online tool that you can use to verify that an investment is offered by a registered entity. Registered firms and individuals are subject to the rules, oversight and enforcement actions of their respective regulators.

Information courtesy of CFTC

Futures Fundamentals

Want to expand your knowledge of the derivatives markets? Futures Fundamentals is a one-stop educational resource designed to simplify and explain complex market topics. Through interactive features and rich content, the website explains the role of futures markets in everyday life and provides information on the derivatives industry as a whole. Futures Fundamentals is a collective effort made possible by a number of contributing organizations across the futures industry and is accessible via NFA’s website.

Investor Protection

FINRA Investor Insights: Be Alert to Investor Risks from SMS Phishing Scams

SMS phishing—or smishing—consists of scammers sending unsolicited messages to targets over text or other messaging platforms to manipulate them into taking an unsafe action, such as clicking a link or replying with sensitive or nonpublic personal information. FINRA's Investor Insights explains how smishing works, how to protect yourself against smishing attacks and what to do if you suspect your device has been compromised by a successful smishing attempt.

Information courtesy of FINRA

SEC Investor Alert: Group Chats as a Gateway to Investment Scams

The SEC warns investors that fraudsters are creating fake investment-related group chats, including on commonly used social media platforms, to lure them into scams. Read the SEC's recent Investor Alert to learn how scammers may impersonate well-known financial experts or investment professionals in these group chats to draw in their victims, as well as conduct pump-and-dump schemes. The Alert also provides information about a recent, related SEC enforcement action and how to look out for suspect payment methods.

Information courtesy of the SEC

NASAA Informed Investor Advisory: Impersonation Scams

The internet is flooded with get-rich-quick investment opportunities that appear to be promoted by influential people. Not only are many of these opportunities fraudulent; in many cases, the promotional videos advertising the opportunities are AI-generated. NASAA's Informed Investor Advisory outlines how impersonation scams work, red flags to look out for and tips for protecting yourself against these scams.