The Better Business Bureau is warning the public about investment scams.

Unfortunately, investment scams can take on many forms and it can take a long time for the average victim to even realize they’ve been scammed. Even veteran investors fall for these scams, as scammers study their targets and adjust their pitch accordingly. That being said, there are some clear warning signs to watch out for and a few steps you can take to protect yourself.

Investment scams come in many forms, but they all involve an unlicensed person offering unwitting victims fake investment opportunities. According to the BBB, the most basic version of the scam involves a scammer convincing you to “invest” in an initiative of some kind. After you take the bait, they’ll even send you regular reports demonstrating how well your investment is doing! You’ll only be woken up when you try to withdraw your money, at which point you realize that investment never existed.

The other major investment scam tearing through the US is the classic Ponzi scheme (pyramid scheme). This involves people buying into a company that doesn’t actually depend on the sale of a product or service, but on each investor bringing in more investors. Ponzi schemes only offer the “investor” profit if they manage to sell others on the scheme. The Ponzi scheme is mathematically unsustainable and every such scheme crashes after it’s been passed along for too long.

The red flags to watch out for include buzz words and a lack of credentials on the part of the seller. The investment industry is tightly regulated. One way to protect yourself is to make sure that the seller is registered with the SEC or another relevant regulator. If the seller can “guarantee” that your investment will do well and offers very low risk with very high returns, be very weary. Likewise, as in the case of most scams, high-pressure sales tactics are a dead giveaway. Even if the seller is legitimate, high-pressure sales tactics are the sign of a bad or inexperienced seller. Also watch out for attempts by sellers to find an affinity with you based on profession, ethnicity, church membership, or any other commonality. These attempts may be a part of a “shill” tactic, in which the seller gives you fictional success story that’s been given to them by whoever is promoting the scam.