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"IF IT SOUNDS AND LOOKS TOO GOOD, IT USUALLY IS!" SCAMS - SCAMS and more SCAMS Our World is full of crooks and shisters. They want your money, and they are going
to get it if you are not very, very careful. You really need to keep your wits
and stay one step ahead of these gansters. It is our hope to catch some scammers and put them out of business for good. You
can and must help us by telling the Police when you have been approached by one
of these low-lifers. Please also tell us if and when you hear of any new or altered scams being perpetrated. We will endeavour to keep these pages updated as regular as possible. ---------------------------------- The following scenarios are warnings and should be noted and locked in to your memory forever: Let's say you are lucky enough to have some spare cash. You are wondering what to do with it when out of the-blue you receive a phone call offering the investment opportunity of a lifetime. The caller identifies himself as an investment manager. He knows the jargon, talks about investments, the markets, and the risks just like any financial adviser. He has reputable sounding companies, talks about his links with the Reserve Bank, Australian Stock Exchange and World Bank. It's high return, low risk. The only way you can lose, he reckons, is if you fail to get on board now before the rest of the world finds out. Can't lose? Yes, you could lose everything. It's a scam! It's a cold calling rip off scheme and the latest version has just hit Australia. The group calling itself Stonewall Finance has been ringing unsuspecting Australians and offering shares in offshore company Australian Biofunds Investment Ltd. Neither company is registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) or is authorised to provide financial services in Australia! INVESTMENT SCHEMES Illegal managed investment schemes have netted some of Australia's top professionals. An illegal scheme is not registered with ASIC, while a legal scheme is. Other than that, they work the same way. In a managed investment scheme your money is pooled together with other people's money. You give up the day today control of the money and what it is being used for and generally include cash management trusts, property trusts, equity trusts or agricultural investment schemes such as pine trees, olives, flowers or fish farming! PYRAMID SCHEMES Pyramid schemes are like Ponzi scams but instead involve a hierarchy of investors with profits distributed according to the investors' position in the chain. Under a pyramid scheme, you pay the person who recruits you for the right to go out and recruit new members. In return, the new members pay you so they can go out and recruit new members. A pyramid scheme involves several payments with an initial payment for overpriced goods or services. The only way to recoup your money is to recruit new members! PHISHING Most people who use the internet would have received at least one phishing attack. Australian banks regularly tell people not to give account details over the internet. Yet, some people still do! ASIC's executive director of consumer protection, Greg Tanzer, says phishing scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated. It has never been more important for people to be wary of emails requesting personal details," he says. Please take note, that NO banks will ever send you an email asking you for your account details! MONEY TRANSFER Money transfer scams are also typically promoted by email, or advertisements or on the internet as working from home opportunities. It claims you can earn a commission simply by receiving money into a bank account and then transferring it out again. That should ring alarm bells because the money is illegal! BONDSCAMS According to ASIC, this scam works by persuading investors to put their money into US dollar amounts with our banks. They are told there is zero risk and can earn between 50 and 100 per cent return. The schemes will sometimes claim they are endorsed by the Reserve Bank of Australia the World Bank or International Monetary Fund. The promoters use the names of reputable and high profile international banks which are actually never involved and give the impression that investors will be trading in established bank bonds. Do not fall for this one. It is a scam! LETTER SCAMS Nigerian letter scams, also called "advance fee frauds" or "419" after the section of the Nigerian law that deals with this type of fraud, account for around 100 million scam letters each year. This is an international scam and doesn't necessarily involve someone from Nigeria. The scam usually involves receiving a letter or email offering a "business" transaction. In all cases, they promise a reward if you help offload cash. To ensure a "hitch free transfer" of your share, they will ask for your bank details. Then they start asking to pay advance fees to facilitate the transfer. These fees are the scam! HERE ARE SOME HINTS TO SPOT A FINANCIAL SCAM 1. It looks real Scams that catch people often look realistic and are presented professionally. They have attractive documents, a business-like website, and names that sound like reputable companies. 2. Bigger and faster profits than real investments Scams always offer a higher return than genuine investments. Some offer 20% a year, others go for 300% a year or even more. It's too good to be true. By comparison, Australian shares are some of the most successful investments, and their value has grown about 7-9% p.a. over the long term. 3. Less risk and less effort than real investments Most scams say that financial success is easy and risk isn't a problem. But real wealth demands planning, hard work and guts. Even the best investors make mistakes and have to weather storms like market busts and economic recessions. 4. Something special that genuine investments don't offer It could be a 'secret' offer; 'inside information' or 'new techniques' to make you feel like you've got an edge over other people. But chances are it's a fairytale - and it won't have a happy ending. 5. More urgent than the real thing Scammers often say 'don't miss out' and 'act quickly before it's too late'. They're really just trying to grab your money before you have a chance to check properly. Read more about all scams here: http://www.fido.asic.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/byHeadline/Scams%20-%20types%20of%20scams -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MCI Star Trader scam (courtesy of Ray Shaw ): I just received an unsolicited glossy information pack from MCI Technologies on the Gold Coast - makers of Star Trader share trading software. The generous folk want to make me rich, help me to give up work and achieve everything I ever wanted - all I have to do is sign a non disclosure agreement, have it witnessed by a JP and they will tell me how. I have written about MCI in the past and my opinion has not changed - I can't say it's a scam (or I will get sued) so I will say it is a "macs". I can't tell you that it costs $8,900 plus $42.90 a month because they won't tell me unless I sign my rights away. I can tell you that the software they provide has been mentioned 26,100 times in a Google search for the words - MCI Star Trader scam. ____________________________________________________________________________________ HOW TO GET SOME OF HUSSEIN'S MILLIONS - This is the Iraqi version of thre 'Nigerian letters' scam. It seems one of Saddam's younger sons, Nassery, wants to get a large amount of money out of Iraq. Any 'helpers' can earn themselves a 20% commission for their troubles. However, like in other scams, you will need to pay a fair amount of 'up-front' money to qualify. Needless to say, that your money will never be returned nor will you never hear from or see Nassery or anyone associated with this scam. If you have been defrauded, contact your local police immediately. NEW STOCKS FOR OLD STOCKS - Anyone of the blacklisted cold call companies may phone you and offer to swap your worthless old dot.com shares for brand new issues in mostly 'blue chip' companies. They will hit you immediately with the usual brokers fees, and ofcourse your new shares will never ever turn up. It is so simple, but unfortunately also very effective. See our list of all ACCC/ASIC blacklisted cold callers. GET RICH QUICK BY LAUNDERING SOME MONEY - If you did get caught before the website was closed down, then kiss your money good bye. The operators suggested to 'lend' them your account details in order that they may launder some 'unclean' money. As a reward you would get a fair slice of commission. These fraudsters were caught and the threat is over - for now ! BECOME A FOREIGN CURRENCY TRADER - No, this is not an advertisement by National Australia Bank ! The fraudsters involved with the scheme we are warning you about are operating out of Florida. Work from home and make a fortune. You will be requested to send all your money to Aragon Currency Management. They will invest it in the 'best' currency options market and send you the profits regularly. Believe it, or not ? Don't even think about it !! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back to: FINANCE |
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