Gulf Coast Western launched Initiatives to Help Investors Avoid Fraud

Gulf Coast Western is a U.S. company that focuses on acquiring, developing, and exploring domestic oil and gas reserves in the Gulf Coast region. Gulf Coast Western wants to help ensure that those investing in the domestic oil and gas industry know how to differentiate legitimate opportunities from schemes run by scam artists.

Gulf Coast Western Supports Methods to Protect Investors

The high price of oil and gas made the industry a popular place for many scam artists that wanted to take advantage of investors’ money. These scams have tainted the oil and gas industry for years, but the market downturn caused by the worldwide financial crisis has caused many of the scam artists and schemers to find new industries that are currently getting more “hype.” Gulf Coast Western does not offer or sell securities to investors, but the company still believes that potential investors should know how to avoid scams, frauds, and Ponzi schemes by following guidelines established by the NASAA and the SEC.

Gulf Coast Western believes that the recent economic crisis and related oil and gas industry downturn has created an opportunity, not only for complaints, but also for investors to earn money. Today’s prices of land, pipes, commodities, and services are low, which means companies like Gulf Coast Western can use this opportunity to create an infrastructure that will lead to the discovery, acquisition, and development of domestic oil and gas fields that will benefit the industry’s future.

As a company that believes in the stable future of domestic oil and gas, Gulf Coast Western also wants to help potential investors understand how they can differentiate legitimate opportunities from scams. To combat the negative influence of scams and fraud, Gulf Coast Western has created a Due Diligence page at its web site (http://www.gulfcoastwestern.com). This page provides information that will help potential investors decide where they should direct their money in the domestic oil and gas industry.

What is the Future of Domestic American Oil and Gas?

The domestic oil and gas industry is not as strong today as it has been in the past, but this is just a brief period of downturn. Gulf Coast Western is prepared to weather the storm and prepare for an even more prosperous future. The company currently has access to thousands of acres of lands that are rich in natural gas and oil. This creates an opportunity for the company to discover and develop new reserves that will serve the U.S. market for decades.

Gulf Coast Western Wants to Help Investors Avoid Scam and Fraud

Successfully investing in the future of domestic oil and gas field exploration requires a good understanding of how one can differentiate between fraud and legitimate opportunity. There is some degree of risk in all investments, but legitimate offers have more positive potential than scams that are just designed to take advantage of investors.

You can learn more about finding legitimate investment opportunities in the domestic oil and gas industry by pointing your browser to the Gulf Coast Western web page (http://www.gulfcoastwestern.com).

Gulf Coast Western wants to make sure that investors are protecting themselves against the following scams and frauds:

Gulf Coast Western – Protecting Investors Against Ponzi Schemes

This is where someone collects money from a new investor only to use it to pay the supposed returns to an earlier investor, instead of investing the money as promised.  It was named after Charles Ponzi, who in the 1920’s conned thousands to invest in a complex scheme involving postage stamps.  Ponzi schemes tend to collapse when they can no longer attract new investors or when too many investors attempt to get their money out- for example, during turbulent economic times.  Madoff would be an example of this kind of fraud.

Pyramid Schemes

The attraction is that you can turn a small investment into large returns within a short period of time; however the participants make money solely by recruiting new participants into to the program.  The money is made by recruiting new participants. Therefore, for everyone who makes money, someone else loses money.   They very often look like legitimate multi-level marketing schemes but the money is not made by offering a product or service.  When new partners can no longer be recruited to sustain the pyramid, the pyramid collapses.

Gulf Coast Western – Protecting Investors Against Offshore Scams

Perpetrated by individuals in other countries targeting U.S. investors; they often include a story where a large sum of money needs to enter the U.S. and the targeted investor will be paid a large commission for assisting that foreigner.  The investor pays what appear to be legitimate transaction fees and other charges with the anticipation of a large payout that never comes.  Offshore scams can take a variety of forms and can be very difficult for U.S. law enforcement agencies to investigate.

How to protect yourself

* Be aware of guaranteed returns
* Be aware of promoters that tell you- “there is no risk,” and “this must be kept a secret.”
* Be aware of non-detailed track records.
* If an investment appears to be too good to be true – it probably is.
* Be skeptical of promises of exceptionally high returns without risk.  Generally, the higher the return potential, the greater the risk.
* Beware of promoters that will not answer your questions.
* Don’t invest if you do not understand the risks involved.
* Don’t invest if you can’t afford to lose the investment.
* Read the prospectus, information memorandum, or other offering document.