Customers Warned Against Investment Cons

Don't lose your money FSB says investment cons and con artists are on the rise in South Africa

The South African public has been warned by the Financial Services Board to be on the look out for investment cons, after a number of cases have been brought to light recently.

The Board said that many citizens have been caught unawares as the money that they thought they were investing in secure bonds disappeared forever.

According to Russell Michaels from the Financial Services Board, the number of investment cons and swindlers are on the rise in South Africa.

"Swindlers can be hard to spot which is one reason why so many South Africans have been caught in their lies," he explained. "A swindler can be a voice on the telephone, someone operating from a dingy back office, or someone with a luxurious suite in a skyscraper. They are all persuasive and plausible and offer returns which they cannot possibly deliver."

Michaels explains that investment cons manage to get their victims to believe them by paying out huge amounts of investment returns initially, and thus getting them to tell their friends about this wonderful investment opportunity.