Today's Adventure in the Biz Opp Jungle:
'In which Charlie gets his website up to speed with 8 biz opp reviews you can read for free... warns of a dangerous telephone fraud.... and offers 3 rules to follow when considering ANY investment."
Hi
I'm an unstoppable juggernaut this week.
Well, that might be an exaggeration. I'm a fast moving van perhaps.
Or at least a large scooter-with-attitude.
Why?
Because I've been working my backside off trying to catch up with all that's been happening in the biz opp jungle since I got married and abandoned you to go on a Colombian holiday.
(The shame of it!)
No matter. You'll forgive me when you see how well I've done on your behalf.
Go to http://www.bizoppjungle.com
Everything is up to speed. You'll see a whopping EIGHT new reviews up for a variety of business and trading opps. (I meant to do this in August, but got waylaid by discussions about tablecloths and cake!)
I've also sorted my email problem, so I've been catching up on my correspondence. Which means I've got some new information to pass onto you.
First the good news...
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Another update on this betting opp
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On Wednesday I mentioned that I've been keeping in touch with the guys as ADK Publishing. Their Legacy and Saver systems have impressed my betting contacts.
Also some of my avid readers. One of whom emailed me to say:
"I have used The Legacy and Saver Plans since early September. Can't do it every day as other things to do! The Legacy has a very restrictive set of criteria and there has scarcely been a bet since I signed up.
He goes on...
"However I have had 13 winners from 24 bets using the Saver System and the bank is up 56%. Just thought I'd let you know."
You can see all the details on their website - click here
Okay, that's the good news.
Now for your weekly dose of SCAM, MISERY and EVIL!
[Sound effect: Lightning strike / scream / deep guttural laughter]
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Beware this boiler room fraud
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I got an email this week that said:
"Do you know anything about a M&A company called CQ Collett Quinlan? They have contacted us about shares in a company called quantem fuel systems (maybe a typo?) asking us to send a transfer of some thousand $ as a fully refundable share verification deposit amount."
Uh, oh, this sounds very bad....
If you ever get a call or like this, slam the phone down. Avoid these scams at all costs! Don't EVER send them any money or talk to them.
They are very bad news!
This is something called a "Boiler Room Fraud". I think because the original criminals who did this would huddle with phones in a boiler room or basement to dish out their lies.
What happens is salesman aggressively persuades you to put money to put into shares that "will DEFINITELY rise in value".
You'll think it's too good to be true. And you'll be right.
It's actually a bad deal all round. The shares will be utterly un-tradable or worth much less than you paid for them. The company may not even exist at all.
Usually, they won't even give you the certificates for the shares. They just take the money and run.
Nice.
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A cautionary tale to remember
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Please remember that in the UK it' illegal for to cold- call an investor to sell them shares.
So if these salesmen claim they're working for a British company, they're NOT.
Researching this a bit more deeply, I read an online newspaper story about a guy called John. He was a management consultant who lost thousands investing through a Japanese boiler room.
After a high-pressure phone call, John bought £6,000 of shares in a US genetics business. The broker promised it would offer quick returns of 50%.
They even pushed him into investing in two more companies.
As expected, the dung quickly hit the fan.
He said: 'I watched each of my investments explode and even bought my wife a new car on the strength of these expected gains. It wasn't until I tried to access my money five months later that I realised it was a scam. I had lost everything.'
A total nightmare.
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3 top tips for avoiding this scam
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Here's how to protect yourself:
*** Never send money to anyone who cold calls you
and asks to buy shares.
*** Check whether the firm is authorised by the FSA.
*** Call the Financial Standards Authority's consumer hotline on 0845 606 1234. They have a list of all known current boiler room schemes.
This isn't to confuse boiler rooms with legal and decent investment opportunities.
A genuine stock "tipper" is a totally different kettle of bananas....
A proper share tipper will merely tell you what stock he thinks will rise. It's then up to you to invest through a bona fide broker, or not.
He won't demand money for the shares themselves.
Or try to pump one stock only in a high-pressure manner. And he'll give you all the details of the company so you can see it exists with your own eyes.
Also, a decent tipster will always offer a free trial or money-back guarantee to put his recommendations to the test.
Oh, whatever you invest in, remember the golden rules....
**** Prices can go DOWN as well as UP.
**** Never invest more than you can afford to lose.
**** And never, EVER put a fork in a toaster.
Don't forget, my recommendations for decent investment newsletters and trading opps are all on my site.
It's easy. Just go to:
http://www.bizoppjungle.com
Later alligator
Charlie Wright
The Biz Opp Jungle