The Scam That Thought Me How To Become A Smarter Investor
A couple of years back, a friend of mine called to tell me about a juicy investment opportunity that had been making him very good profits. He sent a link which I followed to the company’s website. It was a clean, professional site, and I was quickly taken by their offer of 100% returns in 3 months. Without much thought and with my adrenaline pumping to make quick money, I invested my life savings at the time which was One million Naira through the company’s online platform, which also seemed to work very well. I could see my returns skyrocketing from my dashboard. I was expecting something ‘hooooge’ in three months – a whopping 1 million Naira without breaking a sweat!
But then when I tried to withdraw my money three months later, I’m sure you can guess what happened next. I called the helpline and the response I got ‘shook’ me. I was told that my investment had lost all its value, and I will need to improve my ‘trades volume’ to reverse the situation. I was warned that unless I increased my investment, I would lose everything.
At this point, my eyes opened to the scam that had been right in front of me all along. I felt very embarrassed, but the experience taught me a few lessons about what it takes to invest smart and earn real profit. Here are some of them.
1. Never ignore the signs: Investment scammers always use human emotions against their victims. Beware of greed and impulsive decision-making when it comes to where you put your money. Every good investment involves risks and time to yield good returns. An investment that offers ‘high returns’ or ‘guaranteed returns’ within a short time is possibly a scam.
2. Put in the work: Don’t assume anything when investing. Be sure to do proper research. The very first and most important thing to do is to decide on what type of investment is right for you, based on your goals, risk capacity, and time horizons. Then, research the investment and the company. If you are buying a stock, you’ll need to gather the necessary materials to conduct research on the stock before you buy. This means documents like Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, the company’s most recent annual report, quarterly earnings reports, press releases, company presentations and reports, and financial statements. Click here to learn more about Stocks. If you intend to invest in Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), watch this video to learn more about ETFs.
3. Verify the Company: Check on the SEC website to ensure the business is a registered financial advisor or stockbroker. Any business or person that offers or advises you about financial products must be a Securities and Exchange Commission license holder. Check the SEC website for the list of licensed capital market operators in Nigeria.
At Parthian Securities, we encourage everyone to take ownership of their financial life by asking questions and getting information that matters.
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