Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)'s public interest campaign aims to demystify myths and educate novice investors so that they avoid being taken for a ride by scammers who provide false investment tips and guidance.

India has seen a huge surge in investments over the last few years. But one of the pitfalls of this growth is the rise in the number of frauds, the most being the lure of ‘get rich quickly’ schemes.

While financial markets are inherently dynamic, there is rarely an incidence where an investment scheme will give you phenomenal returns in a short span of time. As an investor, it is extremely important to be aware of investment scams and avoid becoming a victim of one. To this end, thorough research on the part of investors and investor education on the part of the financial industry are both essential for the benefit of individual investors.

Underscoring the importance of investor education, the securities market regulator SEBI has initiated an investor awareness campaign aimed at novice investors. The main aim of the campaign is to make investors aware of the risks of taking unsolicited financial tips from dubious sources, and enable them to avoid falling into the trappings of schemes.

The public interest campaign also seeks to enable novice investors in making better investment decisions by equipping them with genuine investment information. Answering frequently asked questions, debunking common investment myths, highlighting where and how fraud can happen, and providing judicious estimates of returns on investment instruments, are some of the key themes of the investor education campaign.

SEBI also provides guidelines for investing in mutual funds, shares and debentures, along with a comprehensive grievance redressal mechanism to help investors.

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