CIDG warns against ‘too-good-to-be-true’ investment schemes

National

THE public should be careful in dealing with too-good-to-be-true investment schemes to avoid being scammed.

This was the advice of the head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) after the arrest of a Filipino fugitive with several warrants of arrest for syndicated estafa.

“To our fellow citizens, if the money that is promised to return to you monthly exceeds 15 to 20 percent, start contemplating,” CIDG Director Brig. General Nicolas Torre III said in an Inquirer.net report.

Torre said these fraudsters would usually claim they are legitimate and are registered before the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), and that your investments will have receipts and a check will be issued.

The warning came after Hector Aldwin Pantollana was deported from Indonesia. He was arrested for alleged scams he committed against several individuals, and took hundreds of millions.

Pantollana is facing a complaint after the SEC filed a criminal complaint against him and other individuals for violations of the Securities Regulation Code and the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

The "get rich quick schemes" have been rampant not just in the Philippines but also in other countries especially with the social media era, wherein, scammers use online platforms as an avenue to allure people to get instant wealth with just a simple investment.(LAO)