U.S. News and World Report has provided seven suggestions for avoiding financial product scams. While there are plenty of great opportunities out there, these tips might make the difference in saving you from a scam.

1. Never say yes immediately

Think through your decision instead of signing up immediately when you hear about something that sounds like a great idea.

2. Be skeptical

Ask plenty of questions. Don’t feel pressured to make a decision until you are completely satisfied with the answers you are given.

3. Ask the same questions in different ways

If the person you are speaking to is telling the truth, their answer will not change. By changing the wording of your question, you have a better chance of understanding exactly what you are getting yourself into. The more times you ask the question, the more information you will be given regarding the question.

4. Figure out intentions

Will you decision have financial consequences for the other party? Advice from a person that will benefit from you signing up is not the free from bias advice you should be seeking. A person that will benefit from your action is not the best person to receive advice from.

5. Find a sounding board

Speak to as many informed people as possible. Each person can give you input from a different perspective and better prepare you to make an optimal decision.

6. Find at least one alternative

Compare a potential investment to other similar opportunities once you decide it is something you want to do. While the investment might be a great idea, there could be another company offering a competitive solution that will work even better for you. If you decide your original solution is the best, you can rest easy knowing you made your comparisons.

7. Thank the person who gave you the suggestion

If you decide the investment is worth your while, take the time to thank the person who passed the information your way. As long as you are benefiting from it, other people making money off of your decisions is OK.

JPMorgan Chase & Co has agreed to pay $150 million to settle the lawsuit by pension funds, among other investors, which accused the bank of investing their money in a risky debt vehicle that collapsed in 2008

The settlement, which included investors such as the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Retirement Fund, was disclosed in filings with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

According to the complaint and a regulatory filing, the bank invested cash collateral from participants in a securities lending program in about $500 million of medium-term notes issued by Sigma Finance Inc., a structured investment vehicle.

Sigma Finance Corp failed in October 2008 during the global financial crisis.

According to the complaint, while Sigma once carried “triple-A” ratings, JPMorgan “buried its head in the sand and refused to heed the warning signs” as analysts began predicting by late 2007 that Sigma would be unable to repay the notes.

Sigma’s failure left about $1.9 billion as security for roughly $6.2 billion of medium-term notes and other secured debt, the complaint said.

JPMorgan spokeswoman Kristen Chambers said the New York-based bank did not admit wrongdoing in settling. “We are confident that we acted prudently and appropriately,” she added.

The settlement requires court approval. A hearing to consider preliminary approval has been set for June 4.

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The president of an alleged investment firm pleaded guilty to a charge of wire fraud arising out of an investment fraud scheme. Telson Okhio, the president of Ohio Group Holdings Inc. faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

In a three month span in April 2009, Okhio posed as an investment adviser, soliciting $5 million from an investor in Hawaii. Okhio told the investor he would invest his money in a $100 million traiding platform in the foreign currency exchange market. He also assured the investor that he would reap a 200 percent profit in four weeks and that is was a no-risk investment.

Soon after the victim wired $5 million from his bank to the OGH bank account, Okhio wire-transferred $1 million of the investment into his personal account. The $1 million withdraw took place through a series of cash and ATM withdrawals and wire transfers to third parties. The investor lost approximately $1 million in the fraud scheme.

“Investors should beware of deals that sound too good to be true and should always look into the bona fides of their investment advisers. The defendant represented himself as a trustworthy adviser with access to sophisticated and safe investments. In reality, he was a con man who stole a million dollars from his investor. We will aggressively prosecute such outright thefts by so-called investment professionals,” stated United States Attorney Lynch.

This case was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the inter-agency task force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

Fraud charges in a Chinese company traded in the U.S. were filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against two former Chinese coal company executives who the SEC claims stole and sold the assets of the company before raising over $100 million from public investors in the U.S.

The case of Puda Cole included an attempted cover-up involving a forged letter from a Chinese state-owned entity and a fake takeover offer.

The documents that were made publicly available in China months before American and Canadian investment banks raised the money from investors spelled out the fraud, according to the New York Times.

What the documents showed was laid out this week by the S.E.C. as it filed charges of civil fraud against Ming Zhao, Puda’s chairman, and Liping Zhu, the company’s former chief executive. Puda’s principal asset was a coal mining company, Shanxi Puda Coal. But in 2009, the chairman transferred that interest from Puda to himself. The next year, he sold a controlling interest in it to Citic.

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SEC Complaint Puda Oil