Scammed!

I’ve been scammed

Slightly embarrassing to admit this, but if normally astute and savvy operators like me can’t admit to falling for the odd scam, what chance do the majority stand??We’ve all done it at some time, so we might as well own up!

As an expat, I’ve had more than my fair share of cold calls from financial planners offering to take care of my wealth.?(What wealth? LOL).?I was always polite, but always declined. ?I hate cold calls and distrust anything I have not researched.?Having said that, there have been a couple of financial planners over the years who have also taken us for a ride – mis-sold products not right for our situation, disappeared after selling us policies, leaving us to figure out how to manage or update things, and so on.

My father was a banker.?So my money IQ is pretty good, and I’m pretty conservative when it comes to parting with any of my hard earned gains.

What Happened?

Roll on 2023 and the financial pressures, low interest rates on savings, talk about investing etc etc.?I decided to make myself a little more intelligent about all this investing business and began reading about various opportunities.?I found one that sounded interesting – it would teach me all about the markets and strategies, whilst investing a nominal amount to begin with.?So I went for it.?￡250 didn’t seem like a lot, and if I looked at it as an ‘educational expense’ rather than an ‘investment’ I could justify that to myself.?

I signed up, and received an almost instant call.?Here’s the website, pay the ￡250, and let’s get started.

First hurdle: trying to pay caused my bank to have an apoplectic fit.?All explained away by the very smooth-talking gent on the other end of the phone by the fact that banks are ultra-cautious, big-brother types.?OK.?Fair enough.?Warning lights warming up, but not yet flashing.?Paid by debit card, no problem.

I was then allocated a contact person, and given a WhatsApp number for communications?Daily calls started.?How to log onto the platform.?How to ‘read’ the graphs and charts…. All delivered in 15-20 minute phone calls – never anything in writing (of course!).?

It was interesting.?Drawing me in.?I was shown how to ‘open trades’ and ‘close trades’, all whilst watching my ￡250 grow bit by bit.?When it reached a grand total of around ￡450, after only a few days, I started researching more about the ‘how to’ and ‘where to’ of all this investing lark.?I came across the regulating bodies and the watch lists….. and started to research the company a little more.

Could I find out much??NO!?

Now the warning lights are really flashing.?

So, when the next day’s call started with ‘Now it’s time to get serious and invest a little more so we can really grow your portfolio and quickly give you a decent monthly income from this’ I asked some of the questions I should really have asked before I started this game.

• Where are you located?
• Where are you registered?
• What are your ‘governing bodies’ and so on

My ‘handler’ was not phased at all.?He promised to send all the documents via email to alleviate my concerns, and talked about his big investors from Singapore who were making nice profits already, and that he quite understood my reluctance to part with a further ￡1000 investment without doing my due diligence.

And that was the end of all contact.

The WhatsApp number has not been active since that last conversation, and of course I have not yet reached the ‘training’ on how to retrieve my earnings.

I’m not crying over my lost ￡250 – I still view it as educational rather than a financial investment, and it has certainly taught me quite a bit.

Will I take another leap forward into this world of investing??Possibly, but only with recognised companies.?I know they will require considerably more investment than ￡250 to start trading, but maybe I will get to that in time.?Not right now, however.?For now, I will trust the banks with my money and investigate some of the longer-term accounts paying slightly more interest on savings!?Cautious. Steady. Maybe boring.

Will I take time to learn more about trading??Absolutely! This experience might just have awakened a curiosity I didn’t know was there.

Moral of the story??

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and the experience all adds to the rich tapestry of life.?As expats, moving overseas or moving home is also a leap of faith.?We can only prepare so much for changes that life throws at us, and our happiness lies in how we approach and interpret the challenges we face.

What Now?

I can’t help you with investing and finances (although I do know someone RELIABLE who can…..) but I can help you figure out your reasons for thinking about moving home, your motives, and the fears holding you back from making that decision and getting on with your life.

How about a 30-minute conversation to discuss what this would look like??Message me, or book a call into my diary right here.?I promise no financial advice is on offer – I only talk about things I truly understand!?