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Watch Out for Investing Scams
By JLP | January 24, 2006
You might want to watch out for these Top 10 Investing Scams. There are so many different ways people can get scammed. I’m sure the scams listed in the article are just a drop in the bucket.
Although all of them anger me, the one that gets to me the most is affinity fraud, which is:
“Taking advantage of the tendency of people to trust others with whom they share similarities, scammers use their victim’s religious or ethnic identity to gain their trust and then steal their life savings. The techniques range from “gifting” programs at churches to foreign exchange scams.”
Interesting article. Always be on the lookout.
Topics: Investing | 4 Comments »
January 24th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
That is a biggie here in Utah in the LDS population because trust runs high among fellow church members. So much so that LDS Church leaders have had to warn their members to be careful about being scammed.
January 24th, 2006 at 7:15 pm
Sam, I had a very similar thought. I think the religion affinity is one of the most “successful” sources of scam because it’s not just common ground, like skin color or political party, it’s common ground that people expect will protect them; religious people don’t lie, right?
My great-grandpa had one thing that he pounded into his kids’ heads: Never trust a man who tries to mix God and money. Still good advice.
(I know. That was a very nice story I just told. Shall I tuck the grandchildren in and reminisce about the Old West over a nice cup of Joe now?)
January 24th, 2006 at 8:22 pm
Similarly, I was talking to my also-very-Catholic realtor about a year ago, and she mentioned that she never ever does business with anyone who has a Jesus fish on their business card, van or what-have-you because they’re almost invariably crooked. Heh. [That has also been my experience, though thankfully I've only had one first-hand experience of the sort.]
January 24th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
MoneyDummy – I like that maxim, you can’t go wrong with that one.