If you’re an online investment victim, the chances of getting your money back are slim. Even in cases in which government agencies recover money, the consumer usually gets back less than 10 cents on the dollar. The best defense is to thoroughly investigate an online investment before you put your money down.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) inspects investment swindles and provides summaries that document recent allegations of corporate fraud and misconduct in relation to securities investors. Here are some suggestions about how to investigate that “once-in-a-lifetime offer”:

• Check with your city or state consumer protection agency for information about a firm you’re considering for investment: Additionally, a consumer protection agency can direct you to other organizations that might have information about the investment.
• Contact regulators: Regulatory organizations include the Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the National Association of Securities Dealers. For the name and contact information of your securities regulator, go to the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) Web site .
• Write or telephone law enforcement agencies: Fraud is illegal in all 50 states. You can contact your local public prosecutor, your state’s attorney general, or your state’s securities administrator (or all three).

The Better Business Bureau Web site provides helpful reliability reports on firms. You need to read reliability reports before you purchase the firm’s securities. Each report indicates how long the firm has been in business, how long the Better Business Bureau has known about the company, complaint patterns (if any), and whether any government agencies — for example, the FTC or the state attorney general — have taken any enforcement actions against the company in the last three years.