Fraud Alert
Investments, Share, Land, Wine and other High Yield Investment Fraud
As traditional investments become less popular due to lower returns, high yield investments have become more attractive to fraudsters. High yield investments are generally considered to include shares, undeveloped land, wine and collectables such as art or classic cars.
It is impossible to describe how each scheme works as the only boundaries that are known are the scope and depth of the fraudster’s imagination. Some examples are:
- Share purchase known as Boiler Room where a fake company offers a unique guaranteed opportunity.
- Undeveloped land sold in small plots on the premise of gaining planning permission for housing.
- Wine investment sold later for a large tax free profit.
- Banks from remote areas of the world offering Bank Guarantees for hundred's of millions of dollars
The list is endless. The common theme throughout is that all these schemes are designed to part the unwary from their money.
In the section ”About Money - It’s what the Fraudsters want” we have tried to show the basic structure of how the various fraudulent schemes may work. This is not the "be all and end all" as the schemes are constantly evolving. Any investment scheme which is out of the ordinary with high rates of return yet with little or no risk should be treated with caution.
If you are offered any investment scheme which offers high investment returns that could not be obtained on the high street or by normal investment procedures, do as we do and try the "Scam Exam". Compare any papers you have been shown against the lists on the " Common phrases" and "Common statements" pages. Some of these terms may be correct banking expressions or close derivations of them. Some may be just meaningless or nonsensical however they have been used so many times over the years that they themselves have gained some history and credibility. The inclusion of several of these expressions in any document being examined should give cause for concern.