Every day, over 80-thousand Americans become victims to scams and con artists. In today's economic environment, it's more important than ever to be vigilant and skeptical about any investment opportunity, especially one that seems too good to pass up. As someone who's been scammed for hundreds of thousands of dollars, trust me, you can't be too careful about where you invest.

Make no mistake; scams are everywhere, but certain ones are more prevalent than others.

Oil and Energy

These scams tend to involve alternative fuels or new technology and tout huge pre-tax savings. A tip-off that the deal may be bogus is when the company is set up in one state but the well lease is in another.

Affinity Fraud

A relative or friend wouldn't lead you into a scam, would they? They might if they didn't know they were being scammed themselves. Be cautious of opportunities that come through clubs, business network meetings, churches, mosques, synagogues and charities. Watch out for new friends and introductions to a “new, secret and exclusive opportunity.”

Online Affinity Fraud

Social networking sites have spawned a whole new avenue for con artists to find prey. These cons usually involve romantic relationships that develop online. After a time, the scammer asks for money so the two of you can meet in person. Then, at the last minute, an emergency comes up and they can't show. You may also be asked to buy things for this person or they'll have things shipped to you and ask that you repackage the items and then mail the boxes to them to save shipping costs. Beware - you could unwittingly become part of a criminal operation.

Insurance Products

A common phone and Internet/email scam involves an offer to buy a terminally ill patient's life insurance policy. The pitch is that the patient will die soon, has run out of medical benefits to buy medicine, and wants to sell their life insurance policy at a discount to get some needed cash.

Nigerian 419 Scams – A New Twist

This scam dates back to the 1980s and while it seems too simple to work, it's still around because so many people continue to fall prey. It involves an email saying you have unclaimed lottery winnings or an inheritance. All you need to do to claim the money is pay a fee. The twist? Con artists are getting genealogy searches to match up your last name with a country from your family's origin.

Arts and Antiques

The art and antique world has become a breeding ground for con artists. Stores can make 300-1000% percent profit, which makes investing here very appealing. Scammers may propose buying estates at wholesale and selling either retail or individually to other dealers. I was part of a group of 120 people who lost a total of $3-million dollars in this type of scam.

Construction Equipment for Iraq

This pitch usually involves a local construction company that's just received a huge overseas contract but can't get local financing because it's hard to repossess in a foreign country. They claim to have excellent relationships with their vendors and offer a 30% return on your investment. It could be legit, but cons abound here.

Forex Trading

Foreign currency exchange opportunities may come to you from a friend who's making good money. They take you to a person's house or a small office with computers everywhere displaying trades. They may even show you some small accounts that are profitable. Unfortunately, a lot of these con artists take most of the money and pay for extravagant lifestyles.

Real Estate

There are several legitimate programs out there, but most scammers say they're “pooling your funds and buying real estate”. Unfortunately, most are simply running a pyramid scheme and paying you from other investors and never really buying any real estate.

Bank Notes, Prime Notes, Debentures

These usually come from colleagues, friends and the Internet. The FBI, SEC and FTC all say these types of notes don't exist. Almost all of the cases I've seen ended up being a Ponzi/pyramid scheme.

The bottom line – There are some real opportunities out there, but be careful, do your research and move slowly while you get advice from non-biased counselors along the way.