{“type”:”text”,”text”:”This is Steven Chayer with the DisputeVoice Podcast Show. If you’ve ever been burned, scammed, or suspicious that something isn’t right, or perhaps you want to learn more about protecting yourself or a loved one, you’re in the right place.\n\nLet me ask you something. Would you hire a babysitter without checking references? Course not. So why the heck do people hand over their life savings to brokers without running a simple background check? I’m talking about FINRA BrokerCheck, folks. It’s like a rap sheet for financial advisors, and it’s completely free.\n\nHere’s the deal. Every broker has a number, like a financial Social Security. Pop that into BrokerCheck and boom, you’ve got their entire history. Customer complaints, regulatory actions, terminations, bankruptcies, even criminal charges. It’s all there in black and white.\n\nI had a buddy from Worcester who almost invested fifty grand with this smooth-talking advisor. Took him five minutes on BrokerCheck to discover the guy had three customer complaints for unauthorized trading and got booted from two firms. Wicked shady, if you ask me. That five-minute check saved him from joining the complaint parade.\n\nSee, brokers count on you being too polite or too trusting to dig into their past. They’re banking on you literally banking on their word alone. But here’s what kills me. People spend hours researching a fifty-dollar toaster on Amazon but won’t spend five minutes checking out the person managing their retirement.\n\nThis is Steven Chayer with the DisputeVoice Podcast Show. Remember, scammers count on shaming their victims to keep them silent. DisputeVoice publishes the names and evidence online, shining a light on disputes and making sure Google puts the facts front and center for everyone to see. Check out DisputeVoice.com for the latest posts, and watch for us on the frontlines of consumer protection.”}