Pennsylvania Securities Commission Warns Against the True Cost of a Free Lunch

New AARP Survey Shows High Level of Concern About Impact of Financial Scams
Among 55+ Population

HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- More than three-quarters of older
Americans are concerned that financial scams will damage their retirement nest
eggs or those of someone they know, state securities regulators and senior
advocates said today.

The Pennsylvania Securities Commission (PSC), AARP and North American
Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) are warning retirees to look
closely at solicitations for free meals in exchange for listening to a seminar
on investments. Free Lunches are a common setting for fraudsters to engage
with their victims, by which an older individual near retirement age is
solicited to attend and learn more about investing in retirement.

In a survey released today by AARP, entitled Protecting Older Investors: 2009
Free Lunch Seminar Report, 78 percent of Americans age 55 and over surveyed
indicated that they are very or somewhat concerned about financial scams
affecting them or someone they know.

"In these harsh economic times, the pressure on securities sales people to
develop new business is huge, so that may account for the apparent increase in
complaints about high pressure sales tactics," said Robert Lam, chairman of
the Pennsylvania Securities Commission.

For attendees of these free seminars, the potential cost can be quite high. Of
those who attended a seminar, more than three out of four (78 percent)
expected that the free financial seminar would center on opportunities to
learn more about financial issues. However, once at the seminar, half of
seminar attendees said the presenter asked them for personal information, such
as their contact information or information about their finances, and 46
percent reported that the presenter attempted to make a follow-up appointment
at their home. Nearly 40 percent reported that the presenter tried to sell
them financial products either during or after the seminar.

"Too many of these 'free lunch' deals are situations where seniors arrive
expecting to get honest information about different investment strategies and
find themselves bombarded with high pressure sales pitches between the salad
and the main course," said Commissioner Steven Irwin, a Pittsburgh lawyer.
"And, if they've given up enough personal information in the process of
reserving their luncheon seat, they've opened the door to repeated sales
attempts at home, by phone or by mail."

Nearly 6 million Americans age 55 and older have attended a free lunch or
dinner in the past three years, with mail as the most common method of
solicitation (63 percent). Over a quarter of invitees (27 percent) have
received ten or more invitations.

"Senior citizens who already have seen their investment nest eggs shrink by 25
to 50 percent because of the recession are soft targets for people willing to
exaggerate the returns while downplaying the risks involved in the investments
they are peddling - and that's the good news," said Commissioner Tom Michlovic
of Pittsburgh. "Some deals being offered at these so-called 'free lunches' are
simply unsuitable for retirees."

In response to such solicitations, AARP launched the Free Lunch Monitor
program in collaboration with North American Securities Administrators
Association (NASAA) in October 2008. The purpose of the national program is to
raise public awareness about the possible dangers of attending free lunch
seminars, empower investors of all ages with the tools to decipher fraudulent
educational presentations, and share a tool to report suspicious activity -
the Free Lunch Monitor Checklist.

After a year of collecting checklists, volunteers reported that many seminars
focused on different types of annuities with 39 percent encouraged to purchase
one, and nearly half said that the speaker did not discuss the risks
associated with the annuity. Attendees were consistently promised that
products were "low risk" or that they would yield "high rates of return."

"Low risk, high reward is a red flag warning for possible investment fraud,"
said NASAA President and Texas Securities Commissioner Denise Voigt Crawford.
"Defrauding our senior population is unconscionable and protecting senior
investors is a top priority of state securities regulators. I encourage all
seniors to investigate before they invest in any offer served at a free lunch
seminar. State securities regulators offer extensive employment, disciplinary
and registration information about those who sell securities or offer
investment advice."

To learn more about the Free Lunch Monitor program or to become a monitor,
visit www.aarp.org/nofreelunch.

For more information about the survey and volunteer findings, please visit
www.aarp.org/freelunchreport.

About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+
have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and
affordable to them and society as a whole. The AARP Foundation is an
affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to
older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and
sponsors. For more information on AARP, visit www.aarp.org.

About NASAA
The North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) is the oldest
international organization devoted to investor protection. NASAA is a
voluntary association whose membership consists of 67 state, provincial, and
territorial securities administrators in the 50 states, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, and Mexico. To learn
how to contact your state securities regulator, visit www.nasaa.org.

Citizens may contact the Pennsylvania Securities Commission, toll-free, at
1-800-600-0007, during normal business hours or on the web at
www.psc.state.pa.us.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Securities Commission

Michael J. Byrne, Chief Counsel, +1-717-783-5177