As you probably know, there are many honest individuals and groups to get funding from. Further, many charge fees. Therefore, you cannot tell a scam by the fact that they are asking for a fee. In commercial finance, many of the most reputable companies charge upfront fees. Unfortunately, it is hard to tell the good guys from the bad. But, the need to identify the factual from the fraud is critical; all successful entrepreneurs have had to face and recognize this fact of life. Luckily, there are some techniques that have worked well for professionals and are considered standard in the financial industry. If working with a company purporting to be a funding institution, get an attorney's written legal opinion. If it is a private individual, get a reference from his or her accountant, banker or other qualified financial professional.
As you are probably aware, BreadStreet checks out investors as a part of our service. However, because we are a web based company, there are new investors showing up daily. Many of the new-comers are desirable and some are not. So, this means you cannot be too careful. One must check to be sure that those with whom you are dealing with -- are indeed legitimate. It is simple to do, just ask the prospective investor if he or she is a verified member of BreadStreet. If the answer is yes, please e-mail BreadStreet at investors@breadstreet.com  to obtain verification. Or you can tell the prospect you will obtain a copy of their letter from BreadStreet and get back with them. DO NOT let the investor prospect send you anything until this step is complete. Further, if you have met an investor elsewhere, BreadStreet will help you verify those as well- - free of cost.

If the investor is a private investor but is not a verified member, tell them they need to contact BreadStreet to get verified before you can move forward.
If the investor says he or she is an institutional investor; but is not a verified member of BreadStreet tell the investor prospect you will need verification in the form of an attorney's written legal opinion. Finally, tell the prospect the attorney must be licensed within one of the states of the USA period. To find a sample legal opinion go to www.breadstreet.com/writtenlegalopinion.doc

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