Nothing new about this scam…
A couple of days back I said there is nothing new to write in personal finance – in my Facebook post. I still stand by it.
Seriously there is nothing new that one can write about personal finance which is not already written…However the inefficiency at the execution level – of even well given advice allows us to keep writing.
Try telling older people ‘do not talk to strangers’ they will not listen (these are the same people who told their daughters do not talk to strangers when these girls were 9 years old!!). Tell the ‘intelligent’ doctor not to take a unit linked plan, he will. The bank executive working in technology (worse even those in compliance!) who get cheated by a financial product salesman…there is no shortage.
Earlier it used to get me fuming – nowadays I can laugh at them. Earlier I thought the salesman was a fraud, now I am convinced it is the buyer who is a fool. Like a friend posted – there was a surgery in which a rod was to be put in the leg – only at her funeral they found that no rod was put!! So mis-selling is a given, we have to be careful about what we buy!!
Hemant wrote me a note on FB saying ‘why do you not write about this’ …and sent me a link..you will find it at the bottom of this piece. Hemant how useful is it to ‘warn’ people? If somebody decides to walk with his eyes closed…what can be done?
pravin
the scams exist because human beings are sometimes blinded by returns projection and forget to discount it with the risks that go with it.
i only disagree with moneylife that somehow a regulator babu or prime minister should ban these companies .no babu can protect you from being stupid.babus and prime ministers actions can have unintended harmful consequences.
better is to do nothing and let the losers lose.economic freedom includes the freedom to make bad choices.and fail.
what could be done is to strengthen the courts/justice system so that anyone whose contract has been violated fraudelently can seek immediate redress. babu led regulation is not the answer
subra
Greed > common sense. Let us take a case of there being no regulator or a regulator who is there to protect the members. What will happen?
It is really difficult to say. Without RBI performing any role of regulating the bank – there would have been many banks, AND WE MAY have benefitted.
Srinivas Muthadi
Can these regulators perform their duty without influence from ministers and babus in Govt? Those who become ministers are just politicians whose main aim is to protect their interests. Govt. can manipulate statistics to get a favourable policy from RBI.
I think things would be more or less same without a Govt. appointed regulator. Society would automatically choose what it needs.
Srinivas Muthadi
I do not know why should any Govt. force its subjects to use only one type of currency? Traders should be (ideally) free to exachange in whatever medium they want.
Just the thought of no centrally forced exachange rates is really exhilarating!
rohit
well this is funny but a recent event some one known to me
The above listed by subra is much better , the one I am referring to is much lower /funnier standard -Participation in XYZ lottery
One of my friend asked me whether should participated as his email nominated , for fun I said go ahead & start communicating , so at first instance they asked Bank account no ,mobile number, other personal details-provided
than the actual fun starts the person from the dubious email account callled my freind and asked to activate the account needed 25K
well I intervene at that moment else -the person will have lost same
So is this a sheer stupidity of consumer or brilliance of cheater