More independent insurance agents are arriving at the sting house we've set up outside Birmingham, Ala.

Some of them seem honest and tell our senior volunteer he should stay away from so-called "equity indexed annuities."

Cecil Cheney: In my heart, I wouldn't buy one. So I can't sell them.

That's because experts say putting your life savings in indexed annuities can be a bad deal for seniors, because they lock up most of your money for years.

And if you need your cash early, you pay surrender penalties so big that you can wind up with less money than you put in.

But almost as often we meet agents eager to sell them -- like this man, Rickey Gibbs. He claims annuities are safer than stocks because you can't lose money.

(hidden camera)

Rickey Gibbs: They drop the bomb or they blow up some building, it can kill you on the mutual funds. But you can say, "Well, (knocks on wood) I am not going to lose."

Protecting your life savings in a troubled world. That's the main selling point.

But will he be honest about those big surrender penalties?

Leon Morris: Is there any penalty on that withdrawal?

Rickey Gibbs: No. No. Not unless you take out 10 percent.

With this annuity, after the first year, you can withdraw some of your money -- 10 percent annually -- without a penalty.

But the salesman doesn't say how big the penalty is if you need the rest of your money.

When we invite him back for a second meeting, he mentions the penalty again -- but still doesn't say how much you'd have to pay.

Leon Morris: Well, supposed I needed to get some money out?

Rickey Gibbs: You'd have some penalties involved. Because see? They're charging nothing to do this.

Instead of telling us the surrender penalty starts at 16 percent in the first year, he changes the subject to health insurance.

Rickey Gibbs: But I’ve got something, too, that we need to talk about also. That would insure that. And that is a long term care.

We'd seen enough.

Chris Hansen: Oh, hey, Leon.

Leon Morris: Oh, hey, Chris.

Rickey Gibbs doesn't know yet that I’m a reporter, or that he's being recorded on hidden cameras.

I just act like I’m Leon’s friend, and want him to make a wise investment.

Chris Hansen: Now, let's say there was something catastrophic and he had to get his hands on some of that money. What kind of penalties would be incurred?

Rickey Gibbs: What I was telling him is we don't want to put too much in it.

Although he warns against tying up too much money in an annuity, remarkably, Rickey Gibbs avoids telling us how big the penalties are.

And changes the subject again.

Chris Hansen: So, what you're saying is don't worry about the penalties on taking money out of the annuity.

Rickey Gibbs: Right.

Chris Hansen: Just buy yourself a couple more policies.

Rickey Gibbs: The factor in enough to take care of--

Chris Hansen: Get more insurance-- Basically is what you're saying.

Rickey Gibbs: Yeah.

I have to ask three times –-

Chris Hansen: I know I’m sounding like a broken record

-- before I finally get a straight answer about the big penalties.

Chris Hansen: Well, here's a question. It's Rickey, right?

Rickey Gibbs: Right.

Chris Hansen: Why not just be up front and straight with people from the get go and say, "Look, if you got to touch the money, it could cost as much as 16 percent or more?" Why not just tell them? I mean, why not?

Rickey Gibbs: I--

Chris Hansen: If it's such a great product, then why not tell them. That's not what you said up front.

Rickey Gibbs: No, it's not. It's not. It's not.

Chris Hansen: You're a little dodgy there.

Rickey Gibbs: Well, I didn't mean to be. I really didn't mean to be.

Chris Hansen: But you see what I’m getting at?

Rickey Gibbs: I see what you’re getting at.

Rickey Gibbs says he didn't intend to mislead anyone.

Chris Hansen: Yeah. Well, Rickey, there's something I’ve got to tell you.

Rickey Gibbs: All right.

Chris Hansen: That you may not know. I'm Chris Hansen with Dateline NBC and we're doing a story on the practices of people who sell this financial product.

Rickey Gibbs: Right.

Chris Hansen: And if there's anything else you want to tell us about this--

Rickey Gibbs: I’m not--

Chris Hansen: We'd like to hear.

Rickey Gibbs: I mean, I don't-- I haven't done that I thinks wrong.

But before he leaves, Rickey Gibbs has a few choice words for us.

Rickey Gibbs: And, I think what you've done is awful. I mean, you've just--

Chris Hansen: What I’ve done is awful?

Rickey Gibbs: Yeah, what you've done is awful.

Chris Hansen: There was not a lie here sir.

Rickey Gibbs:  I say that you're a liar because you didn't tell me what you were doing and who you are.

He's upset we didn't tell him we were from Dateline when we first invited him to the house.

Rickey Gibbs: I think that's crazy. I guess we're done.

Chris Hansen: OK.

Rickey Gibbs: We'll see you.

Chris Hansen: Thank you for your time.

Rickey Gibbs: Thank you for being such an a--hole.

Chris Hansen: That's nice talk…

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