[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 155 (Thursday, August 11, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53125-53127]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19127]


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COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION


Agency Information Collection Activities Under OMB Review

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), 
this notice announces that the Information Collection Request (ICR) 
abstracted below has been forwarded to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and comment. The ICR describes the nature of 
the information collection and its expected costs and burden.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 12, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding the burden estimated or any other aspect 
of the information collection, including suggestions for reducing the 
burden, may be submitted directly to the Office of Information and 
Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in OMB, within 30 days of the notice's 
publication, by email at [email protected]. Please identify 
the comments by OMB Control No. 3038-NEW. Please provide the Commodity 
Futures Trading Commission (``CFTC'' or ``Commission'') with a copy of 
all submitted comments at the address listed below. Please refer to OMB 
Reference No. 3038-NEW, found on http://reginfo.gov. Comments may also 
be mailed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office 
of Management and Budget, Attention: Desk Officer for the Commodity 
Futures Trading Commission, 725 17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, 
and to: Nisha Smalls, Office of Customer Education and Outreach, 
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st Street NW., Washington, 
DC 20581; or through the Agency's Web site at http://comments.cftc.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments through the Web site.
    Comments may also be mailed to: Christopher Kirkpatrick, Secretary 
of the Commission, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Three 
Lafayette Centre, 1155 21st Street NW., Washington, DC 20581; or sent 
by hand delivery/courier to the same address.
    A copy of the supporting statements for the collection of 
information discussed above may be obtained by visiting reginfo.gov. 
All comments must be submitted in English, or if not, accompanied by an 
English translation. Comments will be posted as received to http://www.cftc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nisha Smalls, Office of Customer 
Education and Outreach, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, 1155 21st 
Street NW., Washington, DC 20581, (202) 418-5895; FAX: (202) 418-5541; 
email: [email protected] and refer to this Federal Register notice. A 
copy may also be obtained from this contact.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission's Office of Customer 
Education and Outreach (OCEO) develops campaigns to change customer 
behaviors, so that customers can better avoid fraud as defined under 
the Commodity Exchange Act. The OCEO intends to survey the public by

[[Page 53126]]

identifying customers and determining if the CFTC's SmartCheck\SM\ 
campaign is helping them to identify, avoid, and report financial 
fraud.
    Title: CFTC SmartCheck Annual Campaign Impact Tracking Survey, (OMB 
Control No. 3038-NEW). This is a request for approval of a new 
collection.
    Abstract: In 2010, the Dodd-Frank Act \1\ expanded the Commission's 
authority to, among other matters related to regulatory oversight, 
establish funding of consumer education initiatives under its new 
Whistleblower authority.\2\ Under this new authority, the Commission 
established the OCEO to, among other efforts, survey the public 
regarding consumer education initiatives.\3\ This notice announces a 
public survey. This survey will include screening questions to identify 
the correct respondents and questions to determine if the CFTC's 
SmartCheck\SM\ campaign is helping customers identify, avoid, and 
report financial fraud.
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    \1\ See Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 
Act, Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010). The text of the 
Dodd-Frank Act may be accessed at http://www.cftc.gov/LawRegulation/DoddFrankAct/index.htm.
    \2\ See 7 U.S.C. 26.
    \3\ See 17 CFR 165.12.
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    The OCEO will use the information collected in the survey to refine 
the methods used to inform the public about how to best detect and 
report financial fraud. This will be done by creating a final summary 
report that includes key findings from the survey.
    Findings from the summary report will be used to directionally 
inform the outreach efforts that the CFTC undertakes concerning helping 
customers avoid financial fraud.
    The survey will be administered using an online survey tool. The 
online modality approach will allow presentation of test material to 
participants in a more convenient and time-efficient manner than other 
collection methods such as mall intercepts. The online method also 
allows for a quicker turnaround for data collection. No other 
collection methods will be used.
    Burden Statement: The screening questions will take about 1 minute 
to complete. It is anticipated that 4,000 people will be screened. The 
survey will take about 15 minutes. The cost of the screener survey will 
be approximately $3,125, which equates to $46.85 per burden hour. 2,000 
people will take the 15 minute survey. The cost of the full survey will 
be approximately $46,875, which equates to $93.75 per burden hour. 
Based on these assumptions, the total burden hours will be 566.7 hours. 
The Commission estimates the average burden of this collection of 
information as follows:

                                     Estimated Annual Reporting Burden Hours
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                                   Annual        Frequency of      Hours per
                                  reporting       reporting          report           Total
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17 CFR 165.12................           4,000  1 response per   1 minute per              4,000  66.7 hours
                                                respondent.      response.                        total burden.
17 CFR 165.12................           2,000  1 response per   15 minutes per            2,000  500 hours total
                                                respondent.      response.                        burden.
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    The proposed survey questions appear below:

CFTC SmartCheck Annual Campaign Impact Tracking Survey

CFTC TARGET = Age 50-65; HH income 60k+; Answers 1 or 2 for question 1; 
Invests in 2 or more products in question 2

Screener

    1. When it comes to family and personal investments like stocks, 
mutual funds, or other trading products, how likely are you to be 
involved in making decisions for your household?

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1...............................  Very likely.
2...............................  Somewhat likely.
3...............................  Not too likely.
4...............................  Not at all likely.
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    2. Below is a list of financial products. Please select all that 
you currently are invested in or have invested in.

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1...............................  Stocks or shares.
2...............................  Precious metals like gold or silver.
3...............................  Foreign currency trading (FOREX).
4...............................  Any type of futures or options.
5...............................  None of these [Single Punch (SP)].
6...............................  Don't know [SP].
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Survey

[Grid, SP Across]
    Please answer yes or no to each of the following questions.

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                Yes                                   No
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                       1                                    2
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3.......................  Have you read, seen, or heard anything about
                           the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
                           (CFTC)?
4.......................  Have you read, seen, or heard anything about
                           CFTC SmartCheck, a campaign that promotes
                           expert tools and resources to check the
                           background of financial professionals, learn
                           how to avoid investment fraud, and report
                           suspicious activity?
5.......................  Have you read, seen, or heard anything about
                           SmartCheck.gov, a website that links to
                           databases which allow investors to check the
                           background of financial professionals?
6.......................  Have you read, seen, or heard anything about
                           Investor.gov, a website that allows you to
                           check the background of investment adviser
                           representatives and firms?
7.......................  Have you read, seen, or heard anything about
                           BrokerCheck.org, a website that allows you to
                           check the background of brokers who sell
                           stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other
                           securities?
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[Grid, SP Across. Randomize Grid Rows]
    Below are a number of actions that you may or may not be likely to 
complete. Please indicate how likely or unlikely you are to complete 
the actions using the scale below. If you were considering investing 
with someone you had not invested with before, how likely are you to:

[[Page 53127]]



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                                                  Not likely or
     Very likely          Somewhat likely            unlikely            Not too likely       Not at all Likely
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                  1                      2                      3                      4                     5
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8...............................  Review performance history.
9...............................  Talk to references and/or past
                                   clients.
10..............................  Confirm certifications and/or
                                   education.
11..............................  Perform a general Internet search.
12..............................  Check disciplinary history with an
                                   official financial regulator.
13..............................  Check licensing and/or registration
                                   status with an official financial
                                   regulator.
14..............................  Personally interview.
15..............................  Check job affiliations with an
                                   official financial regulator.
16..............................  None of these/don't know [SP].
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[SP]
    17. Generally speaking, how concerned are you about unknowingly 
being part of a fraudulent investment?

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1...............................  Very concerned.
2...............................  Somewhat concerned.
3...............................  Not too concerned.
4...............................  Not at all concerned.
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[SP]
    18. If you suspected an investment you were aware of was 
fraudulent, how likely would you be to report it to a government 
financial agency such as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission 
(CFTC) or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)?

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1...............................  Very likely.
2...............................  Somewhat likely.
3...............................  Not too likely.
4...............................  Not at all likely.
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[SP]
    19. If you became aware that an investment you were already a part 
of was fraudulent, how likely would you be to report it to a government 
financial agency such as the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission 
(CFTC) or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)?

------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
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1...............................  Very likely.
2...............................  Somewhat likely.
3...............................  Not too likely.
4...............................  Not at all likely.
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[MP; Randomize Leaving Last 1 at the End]
    20. Which, if any, of the following do you think are potential 
signs of investment fraud? If the person selling the investment . . .

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1...............................  said the investment has a guaranteed
                                   rate of return.
2...............................  said s/he has a special credential, so
                                   they can be trusted.
3...............................  said that many of your friends have
                                   already invested in the opportunity.
4...............................  was willing to charge you half of the
                                   regular commission.
5...............................  said the opportunity was closing soon,
                                   so it was important to act quickly.
6...............................  None of these [SP].
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[Grid, SP Across. Randomize Grid Rows]
    Below are a number of statements with which you may or may not 
agree. Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each 
statement.

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                                                Neither agree nor
  Strongly disagree      Somewhat disagree           disagree            Somewhat agree        Strongly agree
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                  1                      2                      3                      4                     5
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21......................  It is important to know the common signs of
                           fraud when investing.
22......................  The government reviews and investigates all
                           alleged reports of investment fraud.
23......................  I know where to go to report suspected or
                           known incidents of investment fraud.
24......................  I know where to go to check the background of
                           a financial professional.
25......................  Before I invest, it is important to check the
                           registration and/or licensing status of a
                           financial professional.
26......................  Each year, it is important to check the
                           registration and/or licensing of a financial
                           professional with whom I invest.
27......................  Before I invest, it is important to check the
                           disciplinary history of a financial
                           professional.
28......................  Each year, it is important to check the
                           disciplinary history of a financial
                           professional.
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(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)


    Dated: August 8, 2016.
Christopher J. Kirkpatrick,
Secretary of the Commission.
[FR Doc. 2016-19127 Filed 8-10-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6351-01-P