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UPDATE:
Two videos on common types of scams and how to avoid being the next victim.
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Often, we hear the saying that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. However, could we be missing out on something good if we simply tell ourselves this each time there is a deal which looks too good to be true?
So, how do we tell if something is a genuinely good deal or if it is a well disguised pit. For sure, it is not easy. Even very savvy people have been victims of con jobs because if a con artist is a professional, he could have almost all the grounds covered. I say "almost" because the most elaborate of con jobs would still have loopholes.
How do we discover loopholes, if any? Who better to learn from than a professional con artist?
I read this in the weekend edition of The Business Times, 30 June - 1 July 2012:
"I am a proven liar. Don't believe anything I say," said Samuel Israel. He is the hedge fund manager convicted of running a US$450million Ponzi scheme who faked his own suicide in 2008 to avoid his prison sentence before turning himself in after a worldwide manhunt.
When asked what can an investor do to avoid being conned, he said, "Seek as much transparency as possible. If they do not understand exactly how a manager is making money, do not invest. If there is a secret process that cannot be explained, run."
Investors are sometimes too busy looking for profits to notice where the truth ends and the deception begins.
Related post:
Fraud: Like taking candy from a baby.
Bloggy Award
14 comments:
Con man like hunter set the trap only...if u can't find the time to understand or educate urself .....80% of the time u choose to believe or trust the other party presume that he knows his stuff or just for convenient sake......how many time u will read those lengthy instructions or terms before u sign on the dotted line?
Hi meesiam,
Ah, you are referring to those Mini Bongs and Hi Notes?
I think there are also con men who actively target certain people. The simplest example that comes to mind are from the Magic Stones sect. ;p
AK, why do you label first REIT as part of it? :P
Hi pero,
Wah! Why har? I think it must be a mistake. Let me remove it. Thanks. :)
Hi
The biggest con job and the biggest cause of our losses will come from the next big crash.
I never ever want to believe that the PIGS can solve their debt without incident.
Just ask, which country in such dire situation can solve their problem within 5 years. Those country like Argentina, Iceland, Russia are individual. But these PIGS are part of the 2nd largest economy of the world, Europe.
I believe trouble will begin later part of 2012 or early 2013.This type pf play in the market have been repeated over the pass 2 yrs if you look back,
I hope you people are not con into this bear rally, But, we should ride this rally with caution to profit from it, i.e. trading along with stop, no longing for me, I have been selling to strength.
I believe we will see lower price later, this is a CON job to suck more soul into the market, to make the blood thicker and more red.
Hope you people got some protection for your portfolio.
And may you all be safe.
victor
Hi Victor,
Indeed, you could be right. :)
The PIIGS have their plates full and probably overflowing with problems which would take years to resolve. Could they do it? The jury is till out on this one.
All of us would have to decide how comfortable we are with the markets, yes, in the plural. It is not just the stock market. Entire economies are at stake here. If we own investment properties, would they be spared in a global recession?
I do not know what is going to happen next. So, I just do what I feel comfortable doing, bearing in mind the worst case scenario and I will say the same to anyone. :)
Victor has a good point...the world financials both corporate and sovereign are at the brink.
We are seeing soveriegn collapse.
USA would have collapsed if not for the USD as a confidence currency.
As for banks et al, the dirt is slowly coming out one by one.
None is spared including HSBC
involving in huge money laundering and terrorist acts.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-21...l#ixzz20w35gOxf
The banks IMO are the biggest con artist. Look at JPM and Barclays manipulating everything in sight, seemingly with the blessings of the powers.
Poor you and me, the serfs of the world!
Hi JCK,
Indeed, serfs of the world! :(
Another reason why it is so important to build more passive income: to get out of serfdom.
Bankers are well paid, I am sure. I have friends years younger than me in banking and they are already making low to mid 5 figures monthly salary. When I say they are doing well, they told me they are not doing well, suggesting that I am doing badly.
I am in the wrong vocation... :(
AK
The crooks will always make the most wealth in this tainted world......
Hi JCK,
Er... I would like to think not. It would be really depressing otherwise... :(
What about Bill Gates and Warren Buffet? I like to think that the really decent people in the world would do better. I always believe that crime doesn't pay.
OK, this is the boy scout in me talking.
Realistically, WB and Gates are publicised authentic successes.
My guess is that if the corrupted biz/personalities are allowed to be publicised, they would easily exceed the wealth of these two.
Hi JCK,
Ah, that is something I did not think of before... To think that there could be people richer than Gates or Buffet is simply mind boggling.
However, I know what you are saying. I have an ex-student whose father went from almost broke to having millions because he engaged in illegal bookie business!
Two directors from Profitable Plots have been sentenced to seven and eight years' imprisonment for abetment by conspiracy to cheat charges on Monday (June 9).
Timothy Nicholas Goldring was handed a seven-year jail term, while another director, John Andrew Nordmann was given eight years' jail.
The two directors were involved in a conspiracy to cheat investors into delivering money to Profitable Plots by investing in a scheme known as the Boron CLS Bond. The total loss to investors reflected in the charges is about US$2.5 million, or over S$3.1 million.
Source:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/profitable-plots/1142552.html
The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) on Wednesday (June 18) issued an advisory calling on the public to be alert when dealing with companies that do not state their name and registration number in business correspondences.
Under Section 144 of the Companies Act, firms must identify themselves explicitly during such correspondences. This is to ensure the public is aware of the identity of the corporate entity that issued the letter, and to prevent companies from "impersonating or purporting to represent another company or government agency", ACRA said.
The public can conduct a basic search via the ACRA website to find out if a company is registered, as well as check its business address, registration number and compliance rating with basic requirements of the Companies Act. Firms can file or update their records at BizFile, ACRA's online filing and information retrieval system.
ACRA cited the example of Data Register, which has been charged under Section 144 of the Companies Act.
In January, ACRA brought 52 charges against the firm, previously known as Company Register, for failing to display its company name and another 52 charges for not displaying its registration number in its correspondences with companies in November 2013.
The case is now before the State Court, and has also been referred to the Commercial Affairs Department for investigation, ACRA said.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/acra-advisory-how-to-do-a/1173714.html
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