Avoid Financial Scams
Those at midlife and beyond seem to be among the targets preferred by investment scam artists or construction debacles.
Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow. (Prov. 3:11 NIV)
"We'll be out of here in six weeks," said the supervisor of a company who specialized in kitchen remodeling. "And you'll be completely satisfied, I promise."
My husband and I sighed in relief. At last we had found the right people to work with after months of interviews and bids for the job.
Six months — not six weeks — later the last workman walked out the door with our final check. The entire process had been a nightmare of sloppy workmanship that had to be redone, tradesmen who often did not show up, plumbing fixtures not ordered on time and a supervisor who walked off the job.
We later learned we were just one of 44 families in our city in the same predicament. Ultimately, our job was completed satisfactorily, but only after angry phone calls and confrontations with the company president. We held onto our money until the last detail was completed.
Unfortunately, in today's culture of financial scams the word of the day is beware instead of trust, especially for people over 50 who are ready targets for faulty products and dishonest services.
Violet Breckenridge of San Diego has channeled her energy into something positive after finding out her sister was sold $12,000 worth of plumbing she didn't need. Breckenridge decided to volunteer for a local organization called Seniors Against Investment Fraud (SAIF). Breckenridge began looking into the many scams that unsuspecting people can fall for through the Internet, telemarketing, mail, media, door-to-door sales pitches and so on.
A California survey conducted by SAIF found that more than 70 percent of residents older than 50 had been presented with an opportunity to participate in some type of investment fraud. My husband Charles and I were among them. Last month we attended a financial seminar for midlifers. We signed up for the free one-hour consultation offered to each attendee at the end of the program.
The young man who came to our home was clean-cut, a husband and father, and he appeared knowledgeable about investments. His sales pitch and literature were convincing and we liked hearing that each year the company he worked for invited clients to a dinner-dance as their way of saying thank you. He assured us that if we invested our retirement funds into a financial product he believed was right for us, we would enjoy a worry-free retirement.
We thanked him for his presentation, then spent two weeks doing our homework on the Internet, speaking with our accountant and researching the vehicle he had suggested. By the time we finished it was clear we would have made a terrible mistake if we had invested with this company.
No one wants to live in chronic fear or suspicion. There are risks no matter what steps we take in life, but we can be smart about our choices and back them up with prayer and advice from people we trust.
How to Avoid Fraud
- Stay away from investments that promise to double your money in a brief time-frame.
- Never give cash to an investment counselor or salesperson.
- Decline any sales presentation that pressures you to buy now or regret later.
- Take time to study every offer and get a second opinion from someone you trust,
- Put all transactions in writing. Stay clear of verbal or hand-shake agreements.
- Check the track record of every investment you are considering.
- Trust your 'gut.' If it doesn't feel right, don't sign, agree, act on, pay or accept any financial transaction without further investigation.
For more information on SAIF, visit the following Web site: www.corp.ca.gov/saif/saif.htm* or call the San Diego, California office: 858-505-6399.
Karen O'Connor is an award-winning author of 46 books and a popular speaker at women's events and retreats. You can reach Karen through her web www.karenoconnor.com*.
*(Note: Referrals to Web sites not produced by Focus on the Family are for informational purposes only and do not necessarily constitute an endorsement of the sites' content.)