Boiler room victims not stupid or greedy

Wilkins

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/nov/23/boiler-rooms-victims-serious-fraud-office

Really?

jimjames

I did wonder when I saw that too.

I'm sure some are but I guess there are others that are just totally drawn into the web of lies that these people spout.

One I saw recently was for fake lottery win where a businessman had lost £60k in "processing fees". Certainly not one I'd have a lot of sympathy for.

Glen_Clark

Sorry, but how can any sensible person believe a stranger is going to cold call them to sell them a good investment?

Linton

Quite possibly not greedy or stupid, just ignorant of the financial world. That is the danger of government policy of forcing people to take responsibility for their finances without any sort of training.

evenasus

Linton wrote: »

Quite possibly not greedy or stupid, just ignorant of the financial world. That is the danger of government policy of forcing people to take responsibility for their finances without any sort of training.

What sort of training do you think the government should provide?

I often receive phone calls/mail trying to tell me how I can make money.
I certainly didn't need financial training to know how to deal with them. Common sense was all that was required.

Linton

evenasus wrote: »

What sort of training do you think the government should provide?

Two possibilities come to mind...

- Personal finance taught in school.
- A booklet sent out with the annual tax statement

wiseshark

Glen_Clark wrote: »

Sorry, but how can any sensible person believe a stranger is going to cold call them to sell them a good investment?

There are many sensible but vulnerable people who can easily be taken advantage of.

Linton

.... and many otherwise sensible people who do some very silly things - just hang around these forums for a while. Remember that the people who ask questions here are those, perhaps a minority, who realise that there are aspects of personal finance that they need to understand but dont.

vectistim

It is a Grauniad article.

talexuser

I am in agreement with the tenor of this thread, but on the other hand, there was a time when all of us had to learn about investments and shares, and for some people who are not that familiar it must be easier to fool? Not sure you could teach common sense though, but coming out of school without knowing percentages or interest rates can't help.

patientperson

I have received numerous calls where the opening gambit is naming a company in which I really do own shares. This information is readily available and is open to exploitation by these boiler rooms and indeed any scammer. Their opening line of representing xyz company .. you know the one that I have had dealings with before?. The name is meaningless and very soon I terminate the call in the height of their trying to get me interested.

My single bit of advice is 'do not be polite .. terminate the call .. just hang up'. They may come back again .. different name and so forth .. just hang up and do not engage in conversation with these scam merchants.