CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Aug. 19 (PNA) -– The
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Northern Mindanao on Wednesday has
warned the public anew of a new pyramiding scam in the region.
Renato Egypto, SEC Region 10 director, said
that the SEC has received information about a new pyramiding scheme operating
in Cagayan De Oro City, Davao, Iligan City, and Dinagat Island.
Egypto warned that a pyramiding scheme is a
highly regulated business. “One should first inquire with the SEC to verify if
the offered pyramiding scheme has a permit to operate,” Egypto said.
He said that the SEC and other government
financial institutions have been on alert on this kind of investment plans because
of many complaints involving hundreds of individuals who reportedly lost money
in the scheme.
According to Egypto, the scheme usually offers
the would-be-investor a 20 to 50 percent return on the invested money.
At first, the investor gets the promised
return. However, in the succeeding period, the investor will no longer get what
he expects, Egypto said.
“Perhaps, it is because of the hard times that
people easily fall into dubious money schemes,” he said.
Egypto also warned the public of the online pyramiding
scheme. The unscrupulous pyramiding investors also engaged in social networking
as a revolutionary approach to fool people, he said.
He said it would be very
hard to trace the people involved in the online pyramiding scam because one
would not know about whether the information online are legitimate. (PNA)
LAM/CD/UTB
LAM/CD/UTB
