Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Every year in BC thousands of people lose millions of dollars
in investment scams.
It happens in big cities and small towns
and it can happen to anyone young or old.
To help people protect themselves against investment fraud
the BC Securities Commission has developed
a system of Red-Flags to identify likely scams.
What these are are warnings
it’s a sign that means stop
think about the investment
it might be an investment fraud.
The Red-Flags target deals
that are just to good to be true
Fraudsters design these sales pitches
to push your buttons
they play on your hopes and fears
to manipulate you
into making an impulsive emotional
or irrational investment decision
and if you fall for them you could end up
losing your hard earned money
more than two dozen people in one community
lost 1.5 million dollars
when they fell for one of the most common pitches of all
guaranteed high returns with no risk.
Double the interest what the banks were paying at the time
18% for a year and half
And you will get 12% interest plus all your money back
His exact words to me was Fran there is no way in hell that you’ll lose it
This of course is one of our Red-Flags
The truth is every investment that has a high return
has a high risk so the higher the return the higher the risk
Nothing is guaranteed in life except death and taxes
so when someone guarantees you
high returns it’s an automatic red-flag
To sweeten the pot so that you will part
with your money scam artists offer
incentives that are hard to resist
John Grigg’s said this money was going offshore
and he said that you don’t have to pay any income tax on this money
This is another Red-Flag
When they are telling you that your money is going to make
all sorts of returns offshore
what that means is your not going to get it back
When we found out that he had gone to Mexico
and flew the coop we knew that was the end of it
Maybe six months within the year it was gone
I never saw a cent
I think it would have been better to leave it in the bank
I could of taken it to Vegas
I would have had more return on my money
But fraud victims lose a lot more than just money
they lose their confidence their self-esteem and more
The effects of fraud go well beyond the actual financial loss
people lose confidence in themselves they're often ashamed to admit
that they have lost money
I was very embarrassed and I didn’t want my kids to know how stupid I was
It can break up relationships
it can affect their relationship in a community
it can have devastating effects on your health
It’s broke our health
well I have had two strokes
So how do scam artists get people to trust them
they often use affinity fraud
they pretend to befriend you so they can take your money
they use all kinds of persuasion
including your friends
this is another Red-Flag
The scamsters are very shrewed individuals
who are able to take on different personalities
to be able to appeal to your sense of opportunity
they get to know you they can befriend you
And knowing John Grigg’s for the number of years
that he was in Kamloops and being a business man in Kamloops
and dealing with him I trusted his integrity
and who he was dealing with
And being a senior himself
and doing the planning for seniors
we thought he was ok
Fraudsters come in all shapes and sizes
in fact they will take on a personality
to try and prey on your vulnerabilities
A lot of times people are recruited by the fraudster or the scammer
and they don’t know that it’s a scam
they don’t know that it’s a fraud
they're recruited they trust the scam or fraudster
they simply don’t know any better
and then they recruit their friends or relatives
If you're approached by your friend
it’s a great opportunity
it’s pretty difficult to say no
but you know what? It’s ok to say no
Now if you're thinking this can’t happen to you
you're too smart or experienced
think again. It can happen to anyone
It’s not just the greedy and the stupid
it’s I would say by far and large the people
that I’ve come across that were taken in this were neither
they were smart people
they were quite sophisticated investors
they were seasoned business people
they were engineers they were doctors
and they were even lawyers
The truth of the matter is
we’ve seen victims who are of all ages
male female young and old
it can happen to you
it can happen to any of us
Even though I was licensed
and have held a real estate license and done many deals
I was not able to sift through the BS of this company
that appeared legitimate in every way
and subsequently lost money with them
So how can you protect yourself from investment scams
the answer is due diligence
Know yourself. Know what your investment risk tolerance is
what’s your financial plan and goals
Before making any investment or accepting any financial advice
you should contact the BC Securities Commission
to determine if an investment advisor is registered
or if any enforcement action has been taken
against the investment advisor or against the investment
Protect yourself
InvestRight
watch for Red-Flags
contact the BC Securities Commission
before you risk your hard earned money