http://www.bbb.org/alerts/deninvest.asp

*To see what one of the premier experts in the banking world says about a typical prime bank scheme, see the declaration of Professor James Byrne, George Mason School of Law, at:
http://pub17.ezboard.com/fdiligizerfrm3.showMessage?topicID=38.topic&index=4

*To view a sampling of indictments, court orders, judgments and SEC litigation releases regarding prime bank schemes, see:

http://pub17.ezboard.com/fdiligizerfrm3?page

4. Several varieties of the buzzwords or red flags are associated with these schemes.

* How Marketable Treasury Securities Really Work

• How Marketable Treasury Securities are Sold
• The Forms in which Marketable Treasury Securities Exist
• How Marketable Book-Entry Treasury Securities are Held

*Scams Involving Treasury Securities

• Scams Involving the Renting or Leasing of Treasury Securities
• Scams Involving the Blocking of Assigned Treasury Securities

*Examples of Known Phony Securities

• "Limited Edition" Treasury Securities
•   U.S. Treasury Bills - One Year "Fresh Cut"
•   U.S. Dollar Bonds
• "Federal Notes" and "Tiger Zebra" Bonds
• "De-facto" Treasury Securities
•  Philippine Victory Notes

*Historical Bond Fraud

• Types of Historical Bonds Used for Fraud
• Lies Used to Perpetrate Historical Bond Fraud
• True Values of Historical Bonds
• How Scam Artists Use Bogus Third-Party Valuations to Trick Investors
• Chicago, Saginaw and Canada Railroad Co. Bonds
• Who to Contact

*How To Protect Yourself From Investment Scams

Other Fraud Web Sites of Interest

We're also aware of a practice among some businesses to make their solicitations look like mailings from us. The following page explains why these mailings are illegal.

Prohibition Against Misuse of Treasury Names, Terms, Symbols, Stationery, etc.

Bogus Sight Drafts Drawn on the Treasury

There are many terms that are commonly seen in documents presented by fraudsters in the course of marketing fraudulent investment schemes. Fraudsters often mimic and misuse legitimate banking terms, given that there is a legitimate and purely institutional business in which the general public cannot participate. Many of the following terms are legitimate. These genuine terms then become misused along with those that have no meaning in the real world. They are thrown together in documents that contain a mix of fact and fiction, often confusing to the naïve investor. These include, but are not limited to:

-Non-Circumvention, Non-Disclosure
-Good, Clean, Clear and of Non-Criminal Origin
-Blocked Funds Investment Program
-Prime Bank Trading Program
-Federal Reserve Approved
-Treasury Approved
-Roll Programme
-Irrevocable Pay Orders
-Prime Bank Debentures, Notes, Guarantees, Letters of Credit,
-Fresh Cut Paper
-High Yield Investment Program (HYIP)
-ICC 3034 or 3039 Letter of Credit
-Off Balance Sheet Program

Other terms:

-Prime Bank Debenture Trading,
-Prime Bank Instruments, Notes, Guarantees, Trades or Letters of Credit
-Prime European Bank Letters of Credit, Prime World -Bank Debentures or Financial Instruments
-Prime Insurance Guarantees
-High Yield Debenture Trading, Financial Programs, ---Asset Management Programs
-High Yield Investment Programs (HYIP), High Yield --Promissory Notes or Bank Notes
-Guaranteed Bank Notes, Intermediate Bank Notes
-Roll Programs or Bank Debenture Roll Programs,
-ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) 3034 or --3039 Letter of Credit
-ICC 500 or 600 Bank Debenture Instruments
-IMF (International Monetary Fund) Stand-by Letters of Credit
-IMF Backed Securities, Bill of Exchange, Bill of Equity, or Backed Bonds
-Discounted US Treasury Obligations, Renting or Leasing of Treasury Securities
-Blocking of Assigned Treasury Securities, "Limited Edition" or De-Facto Treasury Securities
-US Dollar Bonds, Federal Notes, Medium or Mid Term Notes or Bank Notes
-Blocked Funds Letters or Investment Programs, -Documentary Letters of Credit
-Irrevocable Pay Orders, Collateral First Debentures, -Money Center Bank
-Fresh Cut Paper or Bank Debentures, Bank Paper, --Seasoned Bank Debentures
-Private Placement Programs, Private Trading Programs
-International Certificate of Deposit (LCD),Irrevocable Bank Purchase Order (IBPO)
Irrevocable Corporate/Confirmed Purchase Order (ICPO)
Irrevocable Prime Bank Commitment, Zero Coupon L/C, Spot Trading

Although there are many different variations of the Prime Bank Instrument fraud scheme, most schemes include many of the following words, phrases and documents:

Secret trading program Banks or Federal Reserve will deny any involvement in these programs Non Circumvent / Non Disclosure Agreements
Funds are "Good, Clean, Clear and of Non-Criminal Origin" Funds pooled together for minimum trade amounts of $10,000,000 or $100,000,000 (sometimes listed as "Ten [10] Million USD," etc.) Interest rates guaranteed from 6% to 100% to 1000% per month Trades with only the top 10, 25, or 50 banks in the world, such as Barclays or Credit Suisse Program backed, approved, or sanctioned by the Federal Reserve Bank (FED or FRB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), or the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) or the Treasury Department "Trader", "Facilitator", or "Broker" Only 5 to 10 "traders" in the world have access to this program; Trader will conduct 40 trades per year. Percentage of the yield will go to charity, social programs, or humanitarian efforts US Government Agencies will deny the existence of these programs because the Government does not want your money to leave the US
US Government Agencies attempt to seize the funds for themselves
"Due 1, 5 or 10 years and 1 day" "108" bank to bank certificate which guarantees the principle + 8% annual interest
Other catch words and phrases that have been associated with these programs include: "Funds of non-criminal origin, are legally owned by or assigned for the participation in a specified High Yield Asset Management Program" Principal is guaranteed and/or secured by letters of credit "The funds will remain in a bank account that only you are signer on. These funds will be used as collateral." Offshore trust accounts / tax free interest Can obtain proceeds through Visa debit cards Advised to remove from legitimate pension/WA accounts and send funds to self directed pension companies who collateralize the funds with a note, and are then invested in Prime Bank Instruments
Our "Facilitator" has access to the worlds top "trader" "Trader" "Trading Bank" "Exit Buyer" The way all banks or big banks make their money Trades are sometimes referred to as "Tranches" Only a select few are invited to participate in the trading program Originally established by the elite families such as the Rockefellers, Gettys, Rothschilds and the Carnegies. Fractionalize or collateralize the funds Fractional banking laws Hypothecation with insurance companies ($1.2M needed for insurance company to "hypothecate" $l00M needed for the trade) Investment periods quoted on contracts would be "90 banking days", "one year and one day", or "five years and one day" Program developed to level out the yo-yo syndrome in the banking industry "The information contained in this document is for information purpose only and is not intended as a solicitation nor an offer to sell any form of securities" Invested funds are fully secured by a Bank Endorsed Guarantee "Cash" Wire Transfer
C&F ASWP
Comfort Letter
"Conditional" S.W.I.F.T. Payment
CUSIP Number
Discounting L/Cs
"Trades are specifically established at a term of 1 year and 1 day, so it does not have to appear on the banks balance sheet"
Foreign Bank Advice
Irrevocable, Divisible, Assignable, Transferable, Fractionable, Revolving, Confirmed L/C Payable 100% At Sight
Key Tested Telex (KTT)
Market to Buy or Sell L/Cs
Proof of Funds
Proof of Product
Ready, Willing and Able (R,W & A)
Soft Probe
2% Performance Bond
* Pre-advise issued by bank
Bank responsible commitment of funds
Other things to look for that should make one worry:
A claim that the "promoter" has a steady business relationship with a large international bank
A refusal to give "full disclosure" of all involved
The expression "mandated agent"
Standby letter of credit (SLC) 

Warning Signs:

1. Name dropping.
2. Buzzwords.
3. Excessive secrecy.
4. Over-reliance on authentication.
5. Excessive disclaimers.
6. Unwarranted appearance of professionalism.
7. Big player behind the scenes.
8. Yields are too high.
9. Lack of transactional basis.
10. The existence of a secondary market where these investments can be laid off quickly and profitably.
11. Flawed documentation. 

A sampling of prime bank web sites:

http://www.webspawner.com/users/debentures1/
http://www.healthwealthsolutions.com/globaltrading/debentur.htm#Federal%20Reserve
http://www.fren-finance.com/
http://www.capella.net/goldenmean
http://program.freeyellow.com/index.html
http://www.imausa.org/ima.htm
http://www.triwestinvest.com/
http://www.webspawner.com/users/debentures/
https://www.angelfire.com/az/bankdebenture/
http://www.highyieldinvesting.com/
http://www.cbodusa.com/
http://www.highyieldadvisory.com/