On Wednesday (1 May), the CEO of Empower Advisory, Douglas Chow, took to his Facebook to share an opinion by a man, only known as Uncle Loh, on how people don’t fall into a scam trap solely because of greed.
Chow, who published Uncle Loh’s points with his permission, said that whenever a scam story is exposed, most people will call the victims greedy, but the truth is, that’s not the only reason for them to fall into a scam. Most of the time, they are conned because they end up trusting the scammer too much.
“The fact is, greed is rarely the only factor. Victims of scams are so for a variety of reasons and mostly it’s because they are too trusting. Often, it’s because they trusted someone close, a friend or a relative who they were sure wouldn’t lie to them,” Uncle Loh said.
He added, “And the fact is it’s hard to tell a scam from a real investment opportunity. It’s not just old uncles and aunties who can’t tell but celebrities, MPs, ministers and journalists are often fooled too because they don’t do the necessary background checks or are just not savvy enough”.
Giving an example of how even prominent figures can’t tell if one is a scammer, the post said the Fan Brothers had taken pictures with Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen as well as Senior Minister of State for Environment and Water Resources Dr Amy Khor on stage. Adding to that, Chinese newspapers have also had paid advertisement showcasing the Fan Brothers receiving their Datokship from a Sultan.
“Please don’t be impressed by anyone who takes pictures with and receive ‘awards’ from Ministers, MP, celebrities or anyone famous. IT MEANS NOTHING. The more they show u this, the more you should be careful of them. What are they trying to prove by selling you credibility through this GIMMICK?!! Don’t be impressed too by anyone giving a big cheque to charity and appearing on media to BOAST. Many people give bigger cheques behind the scenes and don’t even talk about it.”
If that is not all, just a few weeks ago, Uncle Loh said that Lion Club, a charity organisation, invited one of the Fan brothers to their charity event and honoured him with the “Guest of Honour” award. Uncle Loh who was at the event felt “disgusted and speechless”.
In addition to that, another scammer named Lee Song Teck who was behind the Gold Buyback Scam was even interviewed in The Straits Times where he talked about his “fake philanthropy”.
In 2013, it was reported by Asiaone that the man had disappeared with the victims’ cash, where some of them have invested more than S$1 million in gold.
Besides that, even radio deejays promote these scammers on radio because they’re unaware of the real truth and are as ignorant as anyone else.
As such, Uncle Loh questioned how would it be possible for an ordinary person (uncles and aunties) to identify a scam from a genuine business, when even famous people can’t tell the difference.
“So please stop saying it’s greed. Victims of scams don’t just lose their money, they often lose their self-esteem too. It could happen to anyone of us. Your first line of defence is “Always Stay Sceptical,” he noted.
As such, Chow said that he totally agrees with Uncle Loh and hopes that his words would “spread far and wide”.
