Opinion: Why Scamming Will Thrive

“Auntie, sorry to bother you but have you heard of XYZ scheme?” And the gentleman proceeded to tell me about the investment opportunity where l would invest and within a week be paid back double of my initial deposit. It was around the year 2004/05 or so and I was a job seeker with an enormous fear for my future.  I had gone to the central business district of Marina to submit applications to various companies and l was approached as I waited underneath the scorching sun for public transportation.

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I do not remember the details of the conversation but what I saw, mentally, as I was been told about the scheme was an easy way to make money and take care of my needs: my brain was calculating figures and I could picture myself make purchases of necessary items that l had desired. I joined the scheme that same day by filling out a form and paying an amount in the scheme’s bank account.

About a week later, l checked my account balance and I had double the amount invested a week before, as promised, and I was overjoyed. I took out the money with some additions and paid into the investment account, again, for a higher yield: ‘I was going to blow’. Unfortunately, there was no next time as the scheme crashed and my money, well…gone and then, my brain did a manual reset and I started asking myself some hard questions.

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How would someone take ten from me and give me 20 without any kind of logical explanations as to the kind of investment that could yield sure high returns in such a space of time?

The vaguely explained ‘investment schemes’ that are ‘s’ogun d’ogoji’ (turn 20 to 40) have thrived despite warnings and obvious examples of previous failed ones because of their mode of operation, they play on people’s emotions of greed, fear, ignorance and impatience. They would appeal to a better future without laying out the basic processes and structure of the kind of business they are into.

Every path to success always has a recognizable and teachable trail and anything shrouded in secrecy is fraud which is why the originators of those kind of schemes do not lay out a clear path to the kind of businesses they engage in but instead appeal to the ‘investors’ sense of a better future. Their marketing strategy is always and mostly centered on the end product or gain and not the processes so a lot of people give into their tactic when a sense of a better future is flashed at them. More so, in society where money is one of the ultimate measures of success, the promise of being counted amongst a few successful lots could be quite appealing.

Any investment plan that does not follow clearly laid down plan and structure, reasonable time of returns, type of investment engaged in, integrity of the individuals running the scheme with a logical proof of purpose is in all honesty not worth looking at.

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The older folks would remember a time in our country where physical money doubling was prevalent before that fizzled out. Investment schemes that we have been discussing are of the same nature only that the ones we have now comes with branding hypes and a lot more specks.

There is no overnight investment success and anyone telling you that he/she has a business that would guarantee you such, it is one of two things:  either the vendor doesn’t know what he/she is selling or mostly likely part of a ring of people with the aim to defraud others of their money using their human emotions of fear, greed and ignorance as a point of sales promotions, majorly.

The end is always the same, loss of money.

Photo Credit: dreamstine.com

 

OLUWABUSAYO MADARIOLA

 

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