Schemes and scams
Every year in Australia and around the world, thousands of naïve and innocent investors are tricked and defrauded out of their money by scammers. Unfortunately it is very difficult to totally eliminate unscrupulous operators from the property and finance areas, so you should you educate yourself so that you are more likely to be aware if someone claims to be running a scheme but is really running a cleverly disguised scam. Knowing how to distinguish a scam from a legitimate investment scheme will help save you money if you are ever to come across a scam, and also save you a lot of stress and embarrassment.
Legitimate investment schemes include those products and services that have been developed with benefiting the investor as a main priority. This is not the case with scams. Scams are set up for the sole purpose of benefiting the scammers. It can very difficult to differentiate between schemes and scams. Conducting your own due diligence, such as searching their respective websites, calling their number and making enquiries and checking property and share forums and blog sites will help assist you in determining what is a scheme and what is a scam.
Investment scams usually appear to be legitimate and it may be difficult to distinguish them from a genuine investment opportunity. There are, however, some ways to prepare yourself, by knowing what to look out ...
