It's been a while since I posted something in the "Funnies" category but today I just had to share something with our readers. I just got off the phone with an elderly friend that had received an e-mail from a notorious scam artist that promised daily income with little or no risk.
Her family had told her that it was a scam, and my wife had told her the same, but she still wanted to know what I thought. She had forwarded the e-mail to me. It took me about 5 seconds to see the offer as a scam.
It was filled with out-of-context quotes, described an investment scheme devised by a genius I had never heard of (fat chance) that turned out to be pseudonym for the blowhard that puts out the investment letter. It made pages and pages of claims about the financial rewards that await during this limited opportunity to get in on the action.
It was so outrageous, that in another time and place the guy would likely be tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail for scamming the townspeople.
I replied to my friends e-mail warning her off, using terms like "COMPLETE FRAUD," and stating that the guy was "A SCAM ARTIST PREYING ON PEOPLE LIKE YOU." Furthermore I sent her some information readily accessible online that indicated the same.
The e-mail correspondence was Friday. Today she called me about this scam and, after I reemphasized my thoughts, she actually asked me if I thought she could make a little money this way -- I was perplexed, even mortified, that she would ask that after everything she was told. It was like she was hypnotized or had a need to believe in something magical.
I finally convinced her it would not end well if she participated in this scheme, and hopefully she will stay convinced.
Then I suggested she get a six-inch-wide paint roller and write on the biggest open wall in her house the following ...
"If someone tells you that you can make a fortune with no risk, then they are a liar."
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture and planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-23-2009 @ 8:18PM
william lindblad said...
You must have call block on your phone. Scams are numerous and not confined to investing. If you have not had calls for extended auto warranties, health care, credit repair or fixing your mortgage you cannot own a phone.
As P.T. Barnum once said - sucker born every minute.
Amazing how many banks are failing for the same reason.
8-24-2009 @ 5:00AM
al coholic said...
I especially like the car warranty ads that claim they will cover a car even if it has over 150,000 miles.