Most financial fraud is committed by unregistered or unlicensed people, but fewer than 20 percent of investors check the background of financial professionals before investing, according to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

To help people protect their money and invest as wisely as possible, the CFTC, the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Securities Commissioner and AARP Hawaii will stage free educational workshops in Hono­­lulu and Kahu­lui.

The workshops will be especially helpful for those without home Internet connections but will be helpful for all people considering investing, said Michael Herndon, a consumer outreach officer with the CFTC.

"Of all investors, only 19 percent said they confirmed the certification or education" of a financial professional, and "only 17 percent looked for past violations from a government source," he said.

Meanwhile, the government has many different databases that can verify the many types of financial professionals who are licensed and certified to practice, he said.

"At our event(s) they’ll be able to find out where those databases are," in addition to how to use them, he said.

"I think that’s just a good consumer behavior, to check them out before you give them money," he said.

People who have lost money to fraudulent financial advisers "are not stupid," Herndon said. "Some of these people are really good at pitching" investments and appear to be official, with office space, a wall plaque and business cards making them seem legitimate. They seem real and know how to prey on people’s vulnerabilities, such as doubts over whether they have enough money saved up for retirement, he said.

People also will learn at the workshops "when you are being persuaded," through interactive videos. The experience will help people develop alarm bells "that let you decide, ‘This sounds fishy,’" he said.

Anyone telling a potential investor that "there’s no way you can lose any money" should set off alarm bells, Herndon said. "In any kind of investment, there’s some element of risk, and it would be extraordinarily rare that anybody could legally have an investment with a guaranteed return."

Reservations are not required for the free Smart­Check ScamJam events April 30 and May 1. People can stop by, examine interactive resources, attend presentations and collect educational brochures. Officials from represented agencies will be available to answer additional questions.