Showing posts with label Money. Show all posts

Sunday, March 12, 2023

Investors duped by fake mutual funds firm lose almost everything

The Star on Twitter: "Investors duped by fake mutual funds firm ...

KUALA LUMPUR: She wanted to grow her retirement nest, so she placed about RM500,000 with an agent to be invested in mutual funds.

“I trusted the agent because we had signed an agreement,” said the retiree who only wanted to be known as Lee.

ALSO READ: International investment scam syndicate mastermind remanded

It all seemed legitimate, she said, adding that all she wanted was to have a comfortable life in her twilight years.

But now, she wonders if she would ever see her money again. “The company I invested in cited the pandemic as the reason for not paying dividends to investors.”

Lee was among 105 victims who lodged police reports against the company at the Sentul district police headquarters here yesterday.

Another victim, Siti, said she had invested RM300,000 in 2019 after she was promised 30% returns in one year.

ALSO READ: Over 300 victims lose RM100mil to investment scam, police reports lodged against firm

She said that she felt assured when the agent cited names of VVIPs and prominent politicians.

“I did not know it was a scam because they showed me approval letters from government agencies.”

By 2020, Siti still had not received any dividends.

“When I tried to follow up on this, the company did not even respond to my queries,” she added.

In view of the silence, Siti said she approached the Malaysia International Humanitarian Organisation (MHO) where she discovered others in the same situation.

Another victim, a Yemeni national, said he was approached by a “relationship manager” of a supposed bank.

“The relationship manager convinced me that it was a good and safe investment with 10% guaranteed returns,” he said, adding that he invested RM330,000 in the scheme which involved sukuk and seafood.

MHO secretary-general Datuk Hishamuddin Hashim said the victims were involved in five types of investments offered by a marketing management company.

He said they were lured into putting their money into supposed trust funds, shares, and sukuk, among others.

These investors were promised that they would get profits ranging from 15% to 24%, depending on their capital and investment period, he told reporters yesterday.

MHO advisor Tan Sri Musa Hassan suggested the government draft a law to deal with fraud including stock investments to prevent more people from becoming victims.

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Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Scammers getting smarter now and so should we

Scammers keep getting bolder and bolder with their extortion methods. From impersonating landlords to illegal debt collection tactics, there is no shortage of ways scammers will try to separate you from your money. Be aware of these five red flags when getting on the phone, checking your email, or using social media. This can help you avoid getting trapped in a conversation with a scammer in the first place.

Whether it’s through email, text, phone calls or direct messages, scams seem to be everywhere on the internet. Not all scams are obvious and many specifically target small business owners. Learn how to recognize a scam, protect your business and know what to do if you become a victim of a scam.

Being forearmed with knowledge is key to not falling prey to well-trained scammers

Arm yourself with knowledge to identify a swindler

RIGHT before my eyes, I witnessed my friend falling for a classic Macau scam over the phone.

The call from a “government official” had him hooked. Frantically, I gestured to my friend to end the call but he was like a man possessed.

Someone on the other end of the line, claiming to be a government official, informed my worried friend that he had been implicated in a crime of sorts and the only way to escape the consequences was to transfer his money into a “safe account”.

After 45 minutes on the phone, he sent RM5,000 to one such bank account, and this happened on his pay day!

Recalling the incident, my friend said the caller was so convincing and believable that it was hard to cut the line.

This incident came to mind when the long arm of the law finally caught up with Tedy Teow, the founder of MBI (Mobility Beyond Imagination) well-known for its superlative money-making scheme.

He was detained in Thailand about a week ago and is believed to be wanted for questioning over several money-laundering cases in a few countries.

From what I could tell, the news failed to generate much interest on the ground, especially in Penang where the scheme used to have a large number of followers.

It could be that many of his victims were resigned to the fact that their money was as good as gone, even though Teow got arrested.

I have many acquaintances who put money into MBI. A few earned some returns. Most did not.

Now, it is “successful” Macau scams that are dominating the chatter in coffeeshops, offices, watering holes and messaging groups.

Indeed, teachers, engineers, doctors and even a politician were among the prized scalps of these so-called officers from banks or government and law enforcement agencies.

In May, a businessman from Port Dickson with a net worth of over Rm100mil lost a record Rm21mil in one such scam after he allegedly revealed his bank Transaction Authorisation Code (TAC) numbers to a “bank official”.

A sizeable number of scam victims were retirees who lost their hard-earned savings.

As pointed out in one news report, these scammers actually go through a month-long boot camp conducted by professional trainers before they are sent out for con jobs.

Psychology, negotiation skills, the art of persuasion, they learn it all.

They go through gauntlets of role-playing, with one being the “victim” and the other the scam caller, all under the watchful eyes of the trainers.

It has become challenging these days for lawmen to outfox the syndicates which have members even sitting for exams before being certified competent enough to man scam call centres.

And now we hear of increasing cases of dubious bank transfers: money being unknowingly transferred out of savings and fixed deposit accounts after victims were said to have downloaded phone apps.

Protect yourself by not downloading apps from dubious sites!

Then there are the online lovers to whom the lonely give their money even though they have never met face to face.

For those not in the know, this actually happens gradually.

First, the amounts asked for are small. These are quickly returned with a small but appreciable profit. Only after trust is established will the scammer ask for the big amounts.

The situation has never been more urgent as there are still victims who fall prey to such tactics almost on a daily basis.

If you get a call from a scammer, stay calm and rightfully hesitate when asked to reveal your personal banking and user login details.

In the course of a true fraud investigation, government and law enforcement agencies will not transfer calls among themselves. Bank Negara will not transfer your calls to Bukit Aman and vice versa, and never call back the number that was given.

Remember, the police will never threaten to arrest you over the phone; they prefer to do it face to face.

And if it’s a pre-recorded message, just hang up.

Most importantly, if you are a law-abiding citizen who has done nothing wrong, there is indeed nothing to fear.

By TAN SIN CHOW

sctan@star.com.my

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Friday, July 31, 2020

Dirty hands are a sign of clean money

https://youtu.be/0XExSHFkOgw

Image may contain: coffee cup and drink, text that says "IT''s A TO GREAT BiG SOMETHING START DAY"

Dirty hands are the sign of honest, though not necessarily clean, work and labor and thus the income from such work is what we could call clean money. .

A person working with his or her hands, generally, has signs of this ingrained in skin of their hands and it is those people that we should value more than those who have highly manicured hands, whether female or male, who thus, more than likely, have never done an honest day's work.

But society values the latter more than the former, unfortunately, and we can see where that has led us, I am sure. Not only does society value the clean hands, as in no physical dirt on them, but also those that make vast sums of money, which those that do an honest day's work getting their hands dirty, do not.

The worker is the backbone of society for without him or her nothing would get produced, no streets cleaned, no parks and public spaces maintained, no food produced and no wood. The majority of office staff, civil servants, bankers and such like we could well do without, but we cannot do without the worker, the farmer and the forester. Neither, I know, can we do without doctors and nurses, and the cleaners in hospitals. Nor without the carers for the elderly and the sick. But most of those would fall under the term of worker anyway and thus are covered.

The disgrace is that those who toil hard with their hands and do the real work are those that get the lowest share in remuneration from their labors while those who do not do a single stroke of work are the ones who get all the rewards, which really are not due to them.

There are schools, nowadays, and I guess they have always been, who teach the kids that they should not aspire to the “low” jobs of working with their hands with terms such as “you are better than that”, or “we”, referring in that case to the entire school, “we are better than that”. I wonder what they think would happen if there would be not refuse workers, no street cleaners, and such like. For one they would be drowning in their own garbage that they create on a daily basis, not to think about the other things that would not happen would those workers not be there.

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

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Sunday, May 12, 2019

‘Money/cash is King’ comes back to bite Pakatan

Politicians using cash to buy power and votes has created a culture in Malaysia in which people have started valuing money more than truth, hard work and honesty.

THE enduring potency of the ringgit caused by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “Cash is King” regime came in for much ridicule in the last election campaign, much to the chagrin of the perpetrator of this philosophy.

In all his speeches and media interviews in the last two years before 2018’s 14th General Election, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad never failed to hammer home the point that Najib told him this when he asked why he was giving out cash hand-outs in so many forms to the people, and very freely too.

His intended message to the voters was that Najib used this tactic to “buy” votes, as Malaysians will eventually be beholden and grateful to the man who dishes out cash. Whether those receiving it deserved it or not did not matter, everyone wanted the money and many did not care where it came from.

For a long time, money and power worked like a firewall around Najib and his Cabinet, which made him believe cash was indeed king as they blithely went about plundering the nation.

It has been established or is being established at Najib’s on-going corruption trial involving the alleged siphoning of funds from SRC International Sdn Bhd, that money was freely dished out for political support, popularity and reverence, among others.

Mahathir’s campaign was direct and simple, that it was borrowed money and stolen funds from the people that was being given out, and this campaign strategy worked. It thus showed that anti-corruption is an easy sell and proved that most Malaysian voters did care about abstract ethical issues like corruption.

Unbelievably, even many of the beneficiaries of Najib’s largesse had obviously voted against Barisan Nasional while some others became turncoats shamelessly, leaving the flagging party.

But one year after dismantling the Cash is King mantra, it somehow appears to be coming back to bite Dr Mahathir and the Pakatan Harapan leadership. The new mantra among many Malaysians now is that they don’t seem to have enough money all the time.

True, the cost of living never came down substantially after the abolition of the GST (goods and services tax), but we cannot deny that it did lower shopping bills in places like hypermarkets as there was no SST (sales and services tax) levied at such outlets.

RON 95 petrol, which is currently used by most motorists, is capped at RM2.08 a litre which is about 40 sen lower than the actual price it would have been if the old managed float system based on global crude oil prices was in place

Not very tangible for the average Malaysian, right? Do they even care to understand the intangibles that they are benefiting from as a result of several new policies and taxes? No! Looks like Malaysians are not prepared to ask what they can do for the country, it is always what the country must do for them.

Nearly every person I meet seems to have just one thing to say: nothing has come down. All prices have remained the same while some have only gone up. And that Pakatan has not delivered or is slow in keeping its promises.

And strangely, I have been noticing a pattern where those providing certain home services like courier and telecommunication technicians actually volunteer to say that times were better under the Barisan government as they had more money to spend.

“It is very difficult now, we have less money to spend compared to last time when BN was in power. Pakatan Harapan is not keeping its promises,” a Pos Laju staff told a friend of mine without being asked.

I’m one who views surveys by certain groups and parties, especially the random ones, warily as the respondents do not necessarily reflect the actual feelings on the ground. So I make it a point to talk to strangers about this subject whether in public stations or while in a queue waiting to pay something.

What I notice is that while people may be a tad bit sympathetic when I tell them they have to give Pakatan more time because of certain extenuating circumstances, generally, they are unhappy.

The bottom line of their unhappiness now is all about cash. They are receiving less money from the government, never mind what they were enjoying in the past was stolen or borrowed money.

This group of people don’t seem to be outraged, which we all should naturally be, at past leaders who had virtually abused their power to rob the nation’s coffers, a fact which has emerged or is being exposed in many key institutions.

They claim that the BR1M (Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia) payments are now lower and many recipients have also been removed from the list as they do not qualify under the minimum household income requirement. So what is wrong with that? Why do you want money that does not belong to you or you don’t deserve?

Yes, it’s true that the Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH, as BR1M is now called) has been reduced by RM200 to RM1,000 but Pakatan has made sure that only really needy Malaysians get such welfare aid, as it had been greatly abused in the past.

And to make sure those really in need receive more help, the government is giving out an additional RM100 for each child below 18 years of age whose guardians are BSH recipients, for a maximum of four children. And if the child is disabled, it is for a lifetime, no age limit. So if a BSH recipient has four children below 18, he or she gets a total of RM1,420. This is higher than before.

Malaysia has thrived because of a culture of opportunity that encourages hard work in the private sector. Of course, the social restructuring policy, which was aimed at giving a hand to the have-nots to give them a lift, played a role.

But this should not go on forever, the number must reduce eventually as those benefiting should finally be able to help their families to grow away from this dependency.

The growth of this form of welfare state funded by projected or borrowed income -- or worse still, by funds siphoned from government coffers -- is turning Malaysia into a land where many expect, and see no stigma attached, to receive regular financial support.

I find this a growing and dangerous trend, when undeserving Malaysians sit back idly and wait for these cash hand-outs as an entitlement instead of a privilege. And what’s more distressing is to see politicians feeding this cancer as a way of continuing to stay in power.

The actual meaning of the phrase “Cash is King”, as most of us know, is a term reflecting the belief that cash money is more valuable than any other form of investment tool for businesses. For individuals, it is meant to be a fund which is easily accessible for urgent expenditures or purchases.

It is not a phrase that politicians or others use to indicate that they can buy power and votes so that they are able to be in absolute control of the nation for as long as they want. Unfortunately, though, many have done this and it has created a culture in Malaysia in which the people have started valuing money more than truth, hard work and honesty.

Cash is not king when it is stolen from others or, worse still, from public funds placed under your trust or control. That is called cashing in. It is surely not king if it is obtained by unfair trade practices or it is beyond a fair deal.

In this context, something that Dr Mahathir said about two years before the last election shortly after he decided to re-enter politics stands out in my mind. He had said: “You see the collapse of moral values in Malaysia is terrible. In the future we are going to be like those countries where bribery is a part of daily life -- you can’t do anything without bribery.”

This is what he is trying to dismantle after he came back into politics at the age of 93, so we should give our wholehearted support to him and Pakatan for a better and cleaner Malaysia for all.

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Sunday, August 13, 2017

Too good to be true? Think twice

HAVE you ever grabbed an offer without any hesitation, simply because the price is too cheap to resist?

Many of us have this experience especially during sales or promotional campaigns. We tend to spend more at the end or buy things which we are uncertain of their quality when the deal seems too good to say no.

It may be harmless if the amount involved is insignificant. However, when we apply the same approach to big ticket items, it can cause vast implications.

Recently, I heard a case which reinforces this belief.

A friend shared that a property project which was selling for RM300,000 a few years ago is now stuck. Although the whole project was sold out, the developer has problem delivering the units on time.

The developer is calling all purchasers to renegotiate the liquidated and ascertained damages (LAD), a compensation for late delivery.

One of the homeowners said he is owed RM50,000 of LAD, which means the project is 1½ years late. When we chatted, we found that he purchased the unit solely due to its cheap pricing without doing much research in the first place.

The incident is a real-life example of paying too low for an item which can leave us as losers, especially when it involves huge sum of investment, such as property.

To many, buying a house maybe a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a decision made can make or break the happiness of a family.

A good decision ensures a roof over the head and a great living environment, while an imprudent move may incur long-term financial woes if the house is left uncompleted.

Nowadays, it is common to see people do research when they plan to buy a phone, household item, or other smaller ticket items.

Looking at the amount involved and implication of buying a house, we should apply the same discretion if not more.

It is always important for house buyers to study the background of a developer and project, consult experienced homeowners regarding the good and bad of a project before committing.

I have seen many people buy a house merely based on price consideration.

In fact, there are more to be deliberated when we commit for a roof over our heads. The location, project type, reputation of a developer, the workmanship, the future maintenance of the property etc, are all important factors for a good decision as they would affect the future value of a project.

Beware when a discount or a rebate sounds too good to be true, it may be just too good to be true and never materialised. If the collection or revenue of a housing project is not sufficient to fund the building cost, the developer may not be able to complete the project or deliver the house as per promised terms. At the end of the day, the “price” paid by homeowners would be far more expensive.

In general, the same principle applies elsewhere. It is a known fact that when we pay a premium for a quality product from a reliable producer, we have a peace of mind that the product could last longer and end up saving us money. Some lucky ones will end up gaining much more.

For instance, when we purchase a car, we should consider its resale value as some cars hold up well, while others collapse after a short period. Other determining factors include the specifications of the car, the after sales service, and the availability of spare parts.

Quality products always come with a higher price tag due to the research, effort, materials and services involved.

In addition to buying a house or big ticket items, other incidents that can tantamount to losing huge sums are like money games, get-rich-quick scheme, or the purchase of stolen cars or houses with caveats.

When an offer or a rebate sounds dodgy, the “good deal” can be a scam.

Years of experience tells me that when what is too good to be true, we should think twice. I always remind myself with a quote from John Ruskin (1819-1900) who was an art critic, an artist, an architect and a philosopher. “It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that’s all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.

“The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”

Food for thought by Alan Tong

Datuk Alan Tong has over 50 years of experience in property development. He was the world president of FIABCI International for 2005/2006 and awarded the Property Man of the Year 2010 at FIABCI Malaysia Property Award. He is also the group chairman of Bukit Kiara Properties. For feedback, please email feedback@fiabci-asiapacific.com.

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Thursday, May 4, 2017

Angry & frustrated investors lodged report, tell off staffs trying to buy time!

Angry investors who lodged a police report at the Pekan Kinrara station. Waiting for answers:

His first investment scheme failed with losses estimated at between RM400mil and RM1.7bil but JJPTR founder Johnson Lee has brazenly come up with a new one offering even higher returns of 35% a month and with a car, motorcycles and smartphones thrown in as lucky draw prizes. Many of his investors still have faith in him but those in another scheme, Change Your Life, are in a quandary. They now have to choose between getting lower returns or changing to ‘life points’ – and waiting.

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JJPTR offers ‘better’ plan

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/05/03/jjptr-offers-better-plan-founder-promises-higher-returns-but-stays-mum-on-refunds/

After the spectacular collapse of his previous financial scheme, purportedly because of a hacked account, controversial scheme operator Johnson Lee has rolled out a new plan, claiming to offer even better returns.

While JJPTR’s earlier scheme – which ended with RM500mil missing from the company’s account – offered returns of 20% a month, this new one offers 35%.

On top of that, it offers special lucky draws with a new car, motorcycles and smartphones as prizes.

What the company did not say in the shining glossary of the new plan is how Lee plans to address the US$400mil (RM1.73bil) losses he claims the company has incurred.

The new scheme also does not explain how he plans to repay those who lost their money to the earlier scheme.

The one-and-a-half minute video Lee uploaded shows that the new plan is based on a “split mechanism” and has three rounds.

The initial investment in US dollars is “split” or doubled in each round. Half of it is re-invested in the scheme and rolls over to the next round.

Each round lasts 10 days and investors are allowed to convert their earnings back to ringgit after three rounds.

Anyone who invests US$1,000 (RM4,331) is expected to receive US$450 (RM1,949) in each round, making it a return of US$1,350 (RM5,847) by the end of round three.

Under the proposed new scheme, investors will also be rewarded with JJ Points, which can be used in exchange for goods via its shopping platform JJ Mart.

The new scheme was announced by the 28-year-old Lee last Tuesday after news broke that his company had gone bust.

The company did not say when the new plan would start.

Attempts to contact Lee were futile and the number listed on the JJPTR Facebook page is already out of service.

A visit to the company’s offices in Penang showed that investors were no longer lining up for answers.

Instead, the staff, who preferred not to be photographed, were seen sitting at empty counters.

Penang-based JJPTR, or Jie Jiu Pu Tong Ren in Mandarin (salvation for the common people), came under the spotlight when investors complained that they did not get their scheduled payment last month.

JJPTR, JJ Poor to Rich and JJ Global Network are among the entities listed as unauthorised companies under Bank Negara Malaysia’s Financial Consumer Alert.

Records from the Companies Commission of Malaysia showed that JJ Global Network was a “RM2 company” owned by Lee and his former girlfriend Tan Kai Lee, 24. Each hold a single share.

Lee’s father Thean Chye, 58, and Tan are also directors of another company called JJ Global Network Holdings Bhd.

Thean Chye, who was an assistant professor at Southern University College in Johor, resigned on Wednesday after the JJPTR losses came to light.

Source: The Star/ANN

Investor tells off staff after failing to get refund

Business as usual: Employees explaining the refund process and new scheme to investors at the JJPTR main office in Perak Road, Penang.

GEORGE TOWN: An investor, frustrated over not getting a promised refund on his stake, told off several female employees at the main JJPTR office in Perak Road.

The man, in his 40s, was heard having an exchange of words with the staff after being told that it may take “a few more days” before he could get his money.

He told them Johnson Lee, the founder of JJPTR, had said that the money was refunded to JJ2 scheme investors some days ago.

“But until today, I haven’t got my money back.

“I just want to know if the refund has been made or are you in the midst of processing the refund?

“If he has not started the refund, just be honest with the investors.”

He insisted on getting a firm date on when he would get back his money but the employees replied that they would need at least five working days.

He then demanded their names but they refused him.

“You don’t even dare give me your names. If I want to lodge a report, I won’t be able to provide the police with details.

“And don’t tell me you need days for a bank transfer. It only takes hours,” he said.

As he left the office, several journalists approached him for comment but were turned down.

“I don’t want to talk to reporters. You are all just causing trouble for us. I can get things done on my own,” he said. JJPTR, or Jie Jiu Pu Tong Ren (“salvation for the common people” in Mandarin), is a Penang-based company that came under the spotlight when its investors complained that they did not get their scheduled profits last month.

According to online and media reports, the investors stand to lose RM500mil. They reportedly number in the tens of thousands, comprising Malaysians and foreigners from Canada, the United States and China.

Lee, who has blamed the loss on hackers, put the figure at US$400mil (RM1.75bil) in a widely-circulated video clip.

JJPTR, JJ Poor to Rich and JJ Global Network are listed as unauthorised companies by Bank Negara Malaysia.

Source: The Star/ANN

JJPTR just trying to buy time, says ‘scam buster’

“Scam buster” Afyan Mat Rawi has ridiculed JJPTR’s new plan, calling it “unsustainable” and nothing but a forex scheme to placate angry investors.

Once a victim of an investment scam himself, the 37-year-old financial adviser said investors should stay away from the scheme, which he described as “illogical”.

“The investors are angry right now, and JJPTR is trying to pacify them by introducing this new plan.

“A 35% return at the end of the three rounds (one month) is illogical. Where would the company find all the money to reinvest?

“The new plan is just a way for them to buy time,” Afyan said.

He said any investment scheme promising returns of more than 15% in a year will ultimately collapse.

“No legitimate scheme will guarantee an annual return of more than 15%. Any scheme claiming to do otherwise has to be a scam.

“Like most other pyramid schemes, the (JJPTR) forex scheme will collapse when there is no entry of new investors.”

Afyan said that despite getting flak from investors after allegedly losing RM500mil due to its accounts being hacked, it was still “possible” for JJPTR to entice old and new investors to subscribe to the new plan, which promises higher returns and special lucky draws.

“Some investors may leave, because they no longer see hope but those in the “top tier” will continue finding new victims as they’ve already invested so much.

“Unfortunately, there will still be people who believe in them,” he related.

Commenting on a video of founder Johnson Lee announcing the new plan via JJPTR Malaysia’s Facebook page, Afyan said the laws in Malaysia were not harsh enough to serve as deterrent for so-called “scammers”.

He claimed that the only person to have been severely punished for operating an illegal investment scheme was Pak Man Telo, or Othman Hamzah, who was jailed and banished to Terengganu from Perak in the early 1990s.

Othman reportedly enticed 50,000 people to invest in his getrich-quick scheme, commonly known as the Pak Man Telo scheme, and managed to rake in RM90mil before being arrested, tried and sent to prison for two years. He died in Terengganu a few years later.

Ever since then, Afyan claimed, convicted scammers have been getting away easy.

“At most, scammers will be arrested and remanded. But you don’t hear about them serving time in prison. They’ve already made millions, billions, in profits.

“A penalty of a few thousand ringgit is nothing to them,” he said.

Afyan, who lost RM300 to a getrich-quick scheme while he was a university student in 2003, worked in Islamic insurance and financial planning after graduating.

He created a Facebook page in 2008 to share information on questionable investment opportunities, earning him the nickname “scam buster”.

He claims to have uncovered about 50 dubious companies so far.

Source: The Star/ANN