Madoff whistleblower Harry Markopolos on how to protect against investment fraud

When Bernie Madoff confessed in December 2008 that he had been running a Ponzi scheme for decades, everyone was surprised, but not Harry Markopolos and his team.

Markopolos, Frank Casey, Neil Chelo and Mike Ocrant had been tracking Madoff's boldface lies for 10 years. They had, in fact, reported Madoff five times to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Despite detailed complaints, no action was taken. No one was listening.

Well, everyone is listening now. Markopolos, a full time independent fraud investigator after years in the securities industry, took time out of his busy schedule promoting his riveting account of the whole sage, titled "No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller," to chat with WalletPop about what investors can do to avoid the next smooth talking charlatan.