Investment fraud

People get cold calls from sales team representatives offering opportunities in overseas or high net worth schemes, but in most cases, such plans are worthless or do not exist. It can be share, hedge fund, land banking or other types of boiler room scams. 

These are hideous operations that target vulnerable victims who lose their life savings into the bogus plans hoping to gain greatly inflated returns; on the contrary, either the project does not exist, or they do not even get the resale market. 

Such schemes target most elderly and inexperienced buyers. They get cold calls at their homes, are pressured to make early decisions, and are asked not to inform or discuss it with family and friends. They use various tactics to make the offer look genuine and trustworthy, while the products sold are worthless.

How Does It Happen?

• They target people over 65 – who have a good amount of money in their pension accounts. They are the ones who seek opportunities to earn through their pension savings. 

• The victim gets a professional call from a broker who pretends to be calling from a credible organisation that offers huge profits for the investment. 

• The representatives offer deals in share or luxury alternatives like precious metals or gemstones, or wine. 

• They offer free reports, discounts and also provide secret tips to the buyers. 

• They may inform the buyer about the progress made in the invested project – to get more funds. 

• They offer new discounts to previous customers and offer deals that repeat “once-in-a-lifetime.”

• They have attractive addresses and offer lucrative brochures and literature. In addition, they have professional websites to send you reports and documents to make the enterprise appear legitimate. 

• They cold-call people to get money into bogus schemes and disappear when the client seeks returns, profits or an exit.

• They may ask the victim to keep the deal a secret to get maximum returns. It is the strategy adopted by such teams to avoid being spotted.

How To Protect Yourself?

• Reject sudden requests described as time-bound deals located overseas.

• Do not share personal information with a stranger. You should treat all cold calls with suspicion. 

• Ask as many questions as you can before giving any personal details.

• Check the legitimacy of the scheme – ask for authorisations, certificates and related legal documents. 

• Do not rely on brochures or websites – as the marketing teams can create credible sites.

• Do not trust the ratings or reviews posted by the firm.

• If you suspect any such crime, have been conned, or have lost money, report it to the regulatory authorities.