Hi guys, so my family has stumbled upon this investment opportunity, the returns are actually quite amazing, 156% to 250% pa. What do you guys think it it? a ponzi scheme? They are very into it and about to sign up, myself I'm very sceptical due to the crazy returns. what are your thoughts on it?
here is a link:
My loss is your gain!
If its too good to be true then it isnt.
There is no such easy way to make money.
But OP could instead try investing in Crytos
I- is the first word in the URL literally "investir"?
The website is in French, but they have that page in English.
TIL
I was hoping it would be a 3 second investigation (http://real-moneys-bankings-Westpacc-Bamk.com)
But yeah, if you had a product that was generating 150-200% returns, why would you tell anyone else about it? Wouldn't you just put all your money into it and take the (huge) profits?
Clearly this is a scam, but there are certain types of investments where you need sufficient capital to play, so you might need to attract co-investors.
e.g. making a blockbuster movie, building an apartment tower
It's obviously a Ponzi, but I'm interested in hearing the thought process that allows people to fall into these scams.
For example:
Why isn't everyone doing this?
Why would holding gold pay dividends?
Where is the yield coming from?
Why would they offer this to the general public? (What money is to be gained from this 'company'?)
a fear of missing out on a golden opportunity with a lack of investing experience and / or knowledge is usually how people fall for them. they see bitcoin on the TV making bank, it stays in the back of their mind and then they see something like this and don't want to risk missing out on the next bitcoin.
and the stupid and isolated also fall for scams due to the appeal to secret knowledge that others don't know
ooh ! my chance to get rich ! and show that I'm smarter than all those other sheeple !
[oog - what just happened - sheeite - dayum - can't tell anybody about this embarrassing and humiliating shameful mistake - and - next !]
Here is the answer to those questions for any Ponzi scheme:
Why isn't everyone doing this?
As soon as enough people rush to it, and then growth slows down, people try to withdraw. At this point the scheme falls apart. (see Celcius or Luna tokens)
Why would holding gold pay dividends?
It doesn't. It actually costs money to have someone hold gold for you.
Where is the yield coming from?
In a Ponzi scheme, the yield comes from the new investors that come in after you (e.g. crypto staking). Or, it's just fake numbers in your account that you'll never be able to withdraw
Why would they offer this to the general public? (What money is to be gained from this 'company'?)
Because the more people who join, the longer they can keep the scam running, and the more money they can run away with (as the initial 'investors' in the scheme).
They're targetting stupid people cause only they can fall for it. If they make it seem too legit, they'll spend a lot of time weeding out the smart people who will eventually catch on.
the returns are actually quite amazing, 156% to 250% pa
Lets look at it this way.
Government bonds: people getting 0% - 3% pretty safe
Residential property loans 80% LVR: people 2.5% - 4% (if you are having second mortgages it goes up to 8%)
Credit cards (unsecured): people paying up to 40% pa interest
What kind of people are you lending your capital to get 156%+ as compensation for risk
Celsius went belly up offering 8% ish interest rates. Afterpay losing money hand over fist making about 48% gross (8% every 8 weeks)
First thing you'll want to read
what is a red flag?
Second thing is google the address
Third thing is if people are giving these people money then i feel they almost deserve what's coming.
Ponzi Scheme written all over it
Second thing is google the address
Dubai. Some offshore centre where dubious businesses are conducted.
Missed opportunity for "Dubai-ous"
turkey, albania, china, morocco
the returns are actually quite amazing, 156% to 250% pa. What do you guys think it it?
I think you were born yesterday…
I would suggest still in the womb….
He should abort this investment. If he doesn't, he won't come to terms with the results and end up crying like a baby.
Paper gold you say?
Well I'm in! Are urine?
https://www.bullionstar.com/blogs/ronan-manly/peter-hambro-b…
Good article!
As are many of the other articles on Bullion Star.
That was one of the weaker South Park movies/episodes I've seen…
Yeah I think the boys have been losing their edge over the last few years. Especially when they changed Token's name. Maybe the Karen cancel culture got to them?
I thought I was seeing things. Why change his name? Are they getting scared of being labelled/cancelled?
@Kangal: That would be my guess. Didn't care enough to look into too much though. :) He'll always be Token to me.
I got to " the returns are actually quite amazing, 156% to 250% pa" and stopped reading
Lmao exactly
Can confirm: this is rekt's side business. Definite ponzi.
hey pam
It's not even a Ponzi scheme, it's a straight up scam. Call your family off before they lose everything they send OP. The moment any money is wired they will never see any of it again, just more encouragement to "invest" even more into the scam with fake statements and promises of even greater returns by doubling down.
Then when it is all found out, no money ever appears despite all the promises, the scammers hit the "victims" again pretending to be another entity saying they can get back the money from the scammers for a price, and scam them again.
Many naive people lose everything to these sorts of dupes, it happens all the time. Not everyone is OzBargainer savvy when buying online. It's horrible to see.
the returns are actually quite amazing, 156% to 250% pa.
I guess there's one born every minute.
seems legit
Even more so if they take gift cards
Can I short it?
They're forgot to type with their inside voice. It should be -156% to -250% pa. It's your money to lose.
Honestly, if they said 10%-to-16% (or even 16%-25%) it would be much more believable, and they could potentially get more people to scam. But then again, those higher figures act as a natural barrier that filters the gullible from the average.
Just getting some popcorn ready!
Seriously, OP, are you bored or turned troll, you've been a memnber here 7 years so in that time, read all the stories first time posters put up and done about 1,000 facepalms?
Check 1. Does this sound too good to be true?
Check 2. See check 1.
If you could invest via a website easily with acceptable risk and obtain even 1% over inflation, people would be looking at it. 156%? let us know how you go!
I did not even open the link after seeing 156%.. If it was 15.6%, I would given it a read and gave you a suggestion..
I had a quick look through it and the corrosponding my.goldenway.world/ website.
Assuming it's legit - which is a big assumption in itself:
The investor buys a block of gold at a value determined by the company. You lend this gold back to the firm to receive an income.
However, as the block of gold is sold under market value, when you go to sell it back to the firm, you'll get less back than you initially invested. So the claims of 156% + returns are offset by a loss in capital value (assuming the firm will buy it back from you at all).
There is also a heap of fees involved in withdrawing your funds, up to 15% per transaction.
Your real returns, if they don't run off with your money, will be a lot less than advertised.
Is it a ponzi? Probably.
nah, not a single penny will ever be paid out, not ponzi… it's just a straight up scam.
Nope, there is no gold. And there is no way you would even get one cent back.
This is just a plain scam.
Your family seem like investment geniuses, tell them to get straight onto it, nothing can go wrong here.
You've got better odds betting on Australia to win the World Cup.
if gold itself doesnt return that, why would a hybrid mix between paper traded and real gold return that
in the realm of investment scams, this one shouldnt even pass a first read through.
"Affiliate Program Compensation"
they literally describe the pyramid scheme in their brochure ;)
156% to 250% chance of being a scam
could be legit.
Drug dealer needs capital for massive shipment, makes website and concocts a story that it will be invested in gold. Offers 156% to 250% returns.
Shipment goes well, profits rolling in, because its illegal returns are huge! dealer decides, fk it im keeping everything
Actually being a drug dealer is a ponzi scheme.
Most are plebs that take all the risk and get paid SFA compared to higher up in the hierarchy, just like legal jobs.
That isn't a ponzi scheme.
A ponzi scheme is where investments from future investors are used to pay for the investor returns of previous investors. as the scheme does not generate enough returns to legitimately to pay everyone.
A drug dealer will generate actual profit. It is a legitimate business, just an illegal one.
Like all ponzis, be one of the first to sign up then get out when someone posts it on ozbargain.
It's like the 17 comments you see on Youtube videos all pasted within 1 minute of each other spruiking how these people made 13,027 AUD last week by following the proven trading system of Ms Jemima Smith. Ms Jemima saved my life and that of all of my friends and relative in Brisbane, Australia. Ms Jemima can be reached on a Whatsapp number starting with a country prefix I've never heard of.
Bank of Altomic offers return on investment of up to 300% .
just Western Digital funds and within 30 days the money will come flowing back.
i promise.
Can I Seagate you the funds instead?
That made me LOL 🤣
So… outrageous returns, multi level marketing, and the preferred way of depositing funds is crypto? Run (away!)
and if you add an extra $100 we will give you the winning number to next weeks lotto
It's better then Golden Shower Investments
You at least get some sort of return with GSI?
Golden Shower Investments is my number one investment.
I hate this sort of investment as I don’t believe what it claims that the yield will be 250% return. To good to be true. Mostly people got cheated because of greed.
Good analysis on the credibility of Golden Way here: https://behindmlm.com/mlm-reviews/golden-way-review-dubai-bo…
It gets me how people will believe returns of 156% to 250% pa I would be sceptical at anything over 10%. Government needs to be able to shut these mobs down and all involved put on a register of some sort of so they can't go and start up another business. I'm not so worried about protecting the gullible and greedy but their dependants should not suffer as a result of them not doing due diligence.
I'm skeptical at anything above 7%
From a quick and careless read It is not an investment but just buying shares in gold rather than gold bullion.
If gold will jump why not just buy bullion gold, store it safely under your bed(s) and then sell when the astronomical new price reaches its peak.
Ain't new.
And ain't new to hope gold will be king again. Unfulfilled just yet.
To get to 156% returns it would be highly leveraged gold not just bullion, Gold goes up 10x the profit gold goes down 10x loss guys running the thing get a nice headline figure to advertise when it goes up and make money off the fees regardless of which direction gold goes.
Hello, I hold stocks in a tasmanian tiger breeding corporation. About to go public and make a splash on the market. Am currently offering sheets of paper that say you own 5% of this potentially multi billion corporation for only $250000. Can you share this unique offer with your fam?
I like how the website flip-flops between languages.
There's nothing wrong with investing in Ponzi schemes if you can get out early enough
Or hodl until it goes to the moon
These kind of ponzi will never let you withdraw your money. You will just see your pretend money in your pretend account growing every day.
What if the Aust Gov invest in it, will they repay the debt and get into surplus in no time?
quote: "They are very into it and about to sign up….."
And you wonder why so any people around the world are getting scammed so easily. Fools being greedy!!!!!!
156% to 250% pa
If you believe that I have some magic beans I want to sell you.
Any return like that is going to be very high risk and sure as shit not be listed on website urging people to sign up. In this case the risk is incalculable because it is a scam.
156% to 250% pa
The moment I see this I run as far as I can.
Sanity check: for >20% pa ROI you need to be ready to lose all of your capital.
Put it all on red - You have a better chance of return. And if you lose it all, at least you know why.
if you have 100k, put 70k on red, 28k on black, 2k on 0
at least you won't lose it all
Why not give it a go?
Just don’t put too much in on first try, see where it takes you.
Hm. This or $1000 deposit for a bike?
OK, so in the crypto defi world, there is a new mantra, if you don't know where the yields come from, then you are the yield.
come on OP.
if you have money to pizz away, please make a tax deduction that goes to a worth cause like a charity
So this is how the 1% got rich. I'm in! Take my money!
sounds awesome!!
You sound like you're "asking for advice" but promoting it heavily as well. Are you associated with this scam "investment opportunity"?
Hi OP. You and your family probably should not be doing any investing until you learn more about financial scams and investing in general.
Stick to high interest rate accounts with Australian banks for now.
This is clearly a scam. Be highly sceptical of anything offering a minimum return of over 8%.
the returns are actually quite amusing
FTFY
Oh god no…. ozbargain advertising scams lol
Rule number 1 of investing in gold - If you can't touch it you don't own it.
Rule number 1 of investing - don't be a greedy moron.
Obvious scam is so obvious
"Deposits in cryptocurrency are to be preferred because they are almost instantaneous, and the fees are low (they depend on your exchange platform)."
Tell me you're trying to scam me without telling me… wait, actually, you are telling me you're scamming me lol
As someone who has been invested in physical metal for over 10 years, I'll give you this little piece of advice - you don't invest in metal to make money, you invest in metal to hedge inflation (without having a billion or so to invest of course).
How do you hedge inflation with gold prices going down in past 4 months?
Buy the dip? https://www.kitco.com/charts/popup/au0365nyb.html
Metals are the quintessential asset that relies on the adage "time in the market, not timing the market".
Regular, small investments on bullion grade pieces (not numismatics, that's an entirely different story) across a long period of time will lower your dollar-cost-average to close or below spot price and if/when you need to liquidate, there is a ready market to soak it up that has a comparatively stable price (silver being the exception but still better than shares/currency).
I remember reading a quote when I first got into metals - the cost in gold of a reasonable quality men's suit is the same today as it was in Roman times (obviously they are talking toga). Supposedly one gold coin (Aureus) would get you a good quality toga suitable for wearing to your daughters wedding. That is just over 8 grams of gold. That's about AUD$600 at spot today, which is about right in terms of getting a reasonable quality suit that you could wear to your daughters wedding.
If you want to learn more, head over to silverstackers, though take a lot of what is said there (and in the inevitable youtube links) with a very large grain of salt. But also, it can be very addictive, buying lumps of shiny stuff.
Mrs bought me a 1g gold bar for my birthday recently. She paid twice what it’s currently worth. Hmm, guess I shouldn’t pawn it off any time soon…
Supposedly one gold coin (Aureus) would get you a good quality toga suitable for wearing to your daughters wedding.
The problem with that analogy is that clothing is significantly cheaper than in ancient times. The nice sounding analogy is disguising that gold has lost a lot of value since it became decoupled from fiat. A handmade suit will cost you $4000-5000, not $600. $600 will get you a suit made in a sweatshop, that is not the modern equivalent of a toga made from a single piece of handwoven cloth.
The comparison that should be made should be against a benchmark that maintains it's utility over time - land. Compare the price of real estate in gold over time - to agricultural land
Our economy is backed by oil - not gold. We should be stacking barrels of oil in our vaults.
The people on silverstackers are delusional - there is a strong case for investing in gold, silver is a terrible investment. Yet they keep believing in the "historical ratio of silver to gold". Why not the historical value of copper to gold? Just like our friend in the OP, to find fundamental value you need to use common sense and not just believe what people tell you.
@greatlamp: If you're buying at Saville Row it's $5K maybe, but not here in Oz. Last bespoke suit I had made (2018) including 2 fittings and adjustments, choosing my own fabric (S100 Australian wool) and all work performed by local tailor cost $1,300. The last off-the-rack suit I got from the same store (2019) cost $600 including adjustments to the jacket and trousers. And because it's not a Super fabric, it's a lot more hard-wearing than the bespoke suit.
I agree that many of silverstackers are delusional, hence my warning to take it all with a grain of salt. They are the same "to the moon" people as the crypto "to the moon" people.
As I said above, my silver holdings are a hedge on inflation and ideally, above what I would have got in a cash or term deposit. And I've well and truly exceeded those goals. And it's a damn sight easier to buy a few ounces of silver or a few grams of gold every few weeks than it is to buy land.
As for staking oil, you obviously have a much more impressive vault than me! :)
As I said above, my silver holdings are a hedge on inflation and ideally, above what I would have got in a cash or term deposit. And I've well and truly exceeded those goals.
Silver has hit 50 USD twice, both instances over a decade ago. It currently is trading at ~18 USD after being unable to reach 30 USD, despite the highest levels of inflation in 40 years.
It isn't a hedge against inflation.
My comments about the suit were to think about what protection against inflation actually means. Think about the labour involved in making clothing before the invention of the loom, and before mass farming. A suit today cannot be compared against a roman toga unless you are looking at a truly luxury suit - which would be in the price range I quoted.
Gold. Africa. Massive returns. Oh dear.
Please come back telling us you stopped your family!
Obvious scam but more obvious troll.
Sounds like a good investment for getting a tax deduction in FY 2022/2023 due to the loss of the capital invested.