In the same way that a tiger attacks the weakest wildebeest in the herd, some humans kick others when they're down.

Depleted investment accounts, rising home foreclosures, and lost jobs in this recession have turned 2009 into the hunting grounds of financial crooks. They lack the sophistication and grandiosity of Bernard Madoff, but their intent is the same.

Never has it been more important to avoid get-rich-quick schemes, refuse desperation deals, protect personal financial information, and research financial decisions.

"Fraudsters always follow the headlines," says Fred Joseph, president of the North American Securities Administrators Association and Colorado securities commissioner. "Last year, high oil prices led to unregistered oil and gas drilling contracts coming out of the woodwork, while in 2009, high gold prices have resulted in the first gold-mining scams since the 1990s."

Such partnerships in drilling and mining ventures are usually worthless paper for nonexistent wells and mines with phony extraction technologies, he says.

There's been a 20 percent increase in the number of investment scams offering outsized investment returns in 2009, according to the association. "They don't even have to offer a 50 percent return," says Joseph, noting such instruments aren't explained in detail. "With a certificate of deposit paying 2 percent, just offering 10 percent is enough to get people really excited these days."

Many are Ponzi schemes that unravel as soon as new money stops and investors seek redemptions. Because it always pays to take your time with any investment, consider it a red flag whenever someone urges you to invest now or risk losing the opportunity, Joseph says.

Try not to panic over your debt. Complaints against debt consolidation and negotiation companies rose by 19 percent last year, according to the Better Business Bureau, and matters haven't become any better.

"Beware of credit repair scams in which you're told, 'Pay our fee and we'll get rid of your bad credit,'" says Claire Rosenzweig, president and chief executive of the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan New York. "No one can get rid of your bad credit, and you'll wind up losing the money you paid and still have the bad credit."

Nonprofit credit counseling services requiring no fees or very low fees make more sense because they actually help you work your way through your debt, she says.

If you fear home foreclosure, talk first with your lender rather than bring in third parties offering options to you, Rosenzweig says. "Mortgage rescue" or "bailout" companies ask home owners to sign over deeds to eliminate their mortgage obligations. In theory, the home owner is allowed to stay in the house and pay rent, with an option to buy the house back.

"In reality, these companies charge high rents, and when people can't pay, they get evicted," Rosenzweig says. "And guess what? They still owe the money on the mortgage because nothing was transferred."

If you do take any investment risks, make sure they are educated ones.

"When you go to Las Vegas, play roulette, and bet all your money on red, you fully understand and accept that you could lose 100 percent of your money," says Dominick Tavella, president of Diversified Financial Consultants, in Bellmore, N.Y. "Alarm bells should go off if someone is promising more than market rates with little or no risk, because it just doesn't work that way."

Reverse mortgages, which tap the equity in older adults' homes to provide them with monthly payments, are a growing problem because they often exact huge fees, Tavella says. The owner won't lose the home, but heirs will one day receive nothing because the home's equity was eaten up by fees.

Other issues: "Work at home" offers of flexible, easy part-time jobs that actually are ruses by fake employers to steal your identity through job application information and then access your bank account. The same goes for deals supposedly offering grant money from the federal government to help you with your debt.

AARP is warning its members about a growing scam in which "fraud investigators" claiming to be from credit card companies call to tell you your card has been flagged due to an unusual purchase. You're asked to provide your card information and security number—allowing crooks to make purchases online or by phone.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recommends that consumers be wary of the following:

•Requests in e-mails or ads to update or confirm personal information, such as Social Security, bank account and credit-card numbers, and security codes.

•Financial offers from strangers involving a large deposit to your bank or investment account with instructions to then wire any of that money to them.

•Opportunities for jobs, loans, deposits, or investments in which you have not thoroughly researched the people or organizations offering them.

The North American Securities Administrators Association site, www.nasaa.org, is the gateway to all the nation's state securities regulators and their information. You can contact the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority via www.finra.org for broker and firm disciplinary records.

Report suspected cyber crime to the FBI at www.ic3.gov/complaint; send investment-related fraud complaints to the Securities and Exchange Commission by e-mail to enforcement@sec.gov; and forward deceptive spam by e-mail to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov.