More evidence to ask, "If this deal is so great, why are they telling us about it?"

If someone offers you an investment deal/scheme that sounds to good to be true, the first question out of your mouth should be, "If this deal is so great, why are you telling me about it?"

Why would someone share a 'secret/opportunity/can't miss deal' that promises a great return and not maximize their own individual returns by keeping it all to themsleves? This question should reveal the motiviation of the individual offering the proverbial 'can't miss' deal.

That type of skepticism would have served the victims of one of the largest mortgage frauds in American history:

NYT: Mortgage Suit Says ‘Trust Us’ Led to Fleecing

MARTINSVILLE, Va., Sept. 27 — In a tightknit neighborhood, where people’s social lives often revolve around their churches, Beulah Penn and her daughter, Sharon, were well-connected and trusted. Beulah Penn was a lay minister in a local church; her daughter, Sharon Penn, dressed hair.

Using these connections, according to a recent lawsuit, the two women and another relative in Indianapolis perpetrated one of the largest mortgage frauds in American history, victimizing dozens of local residents and, according to sources with knowledge of the accusations, at least $40 million in fraudulent loans — perhaps even twice that amount...