Guest Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28013148 Thought they could buy bargain land in Brazil, ready for it to soar in value leading up to the world cup. I do feel sorry for anyone of advanced years who perhaps doesn't have their faculties intact, but FFS some of these people really should have stuck with a cash isa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geezer466 Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Classic boiler plate land sale scam with a sophisticated twist....... If ti looks to good to be true then it almost............. They are getting quite sophisticated these days... members of the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP) - a British trade body aimed at educating and informing people about how to buy property safely abroad. The company had an address at 30 St Mary's Axe, London - also known as the Gherkin building Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Bear Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Never ceases to amaze me how many apparently reasonably intelligent people fall for these things. You can understand it in some poor old dear in the early stages of dementia, or just terribly naive and clueless, but as for anybody else... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wurzel Of Highbridge Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I look forward to reading about more of these scams next year when pensioners queue up to take out their pensions as a lump sum to 'invest'. No doubt the state will bail them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveinHope Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 For some reason, I found this amusing The victims are now turning to a lawyer who specialises in recovering money from landbanking schemes like this - Chris Corney of the solicitors Carter Lemon Camerons - to try to get their money back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 (edited) Just saw this. "They were persuaded to invest in plots of land which, they were told, would rise in value due to the World Cup.2 Much like London property "Frustrated by low returns on savings in the UK, " Oh dear, suddenly that 2% interest looks good compared to capital losses....Much like London property Why is it when British people lose money they blame everyone else but themselves ? Edited June 25, 2014 by TheCountOfNowhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 The people who invested in this 'scheme' were motivated by pure greed. Monopolising land and banking on making life more expensive in a country where 6% of the population lives in slums. You have to have a pretty defective moral compass to see this kind of thing as an 'opportunity'. No talk of developing the land or investing in infrastructure. Corrupt, immoral, disgusting people - but I bet they still see themselves as 'ordinary nice people'. No sympathy - they deserve to lose the lot. Shouldn't have risked money they couldn't afford to lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 The people who invested in this 'scheme' were motivated by pure greed. Monopolising land and banking on making life more expensive in a country where 6% of the population lives in slums. You have to have a pretty defective moral compass to see this kind of thing as an 'opportunity'. No talk of developing the land or investing in infrastructure. Corrupt, immoral, disgusting people - but I bet they still see themselves as 'ordinary nice people'. No sympathy - they deserve to lose the lot. Shouldn't have risked money they couldn't afford to lose. Just to be clear....Are you walking about the Brazil thing or the London housing market ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butthead Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 For some reason, I found this amusing I'd like to set myself us as a lawyer specialising in getting money back from scams. I bet I could charge my clients an obscene amount of money.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wherebee Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I would like a market in which there was no protection for such investors, and no crime reportable. might stop some of them being so bloody stupid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheBlueCat Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Have none of them ever seen Glengarry Glen Ross? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattW Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Last year I remember fellow HPC member Giordano Bruno posting a link of an American TV series called American Greed. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=american+greed+full+episodes I found these really interesting. Many of these were ponzi schemes in one form or another, sometimes promising annual returns of 20%! Lots of people lost their pensions as a result, although they too were a bit American Greedy to ever think such returns were possible. Perhaps these fools should watch some episodes of American Greed before investing in this 'boiler room special'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Mike Langley, an energy consultant, and a victim of the alleged scam, said: "With an address in the Gherkin I thought, they're a reputable company. If you look at their online web-page - it's [uS website] still up now - it's very glossy. It's very professional. And initially the people sounded professional. Yeh that sounds like due diligence to me. The website is glossy and 'up' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsby Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 It sounds like fraud to me, and so I do think these 'investors' are victims. But yeah, where's the due diligence there, paying thousands of pounds to a company on the basis that the website is 'glossy'. Undeserving victims, but stupid nonetheless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 I'd like to set myself us as a lawyer specialising in getting money back from scams. I bet I could charge my clients an obscene amount of money.... Ha, walking from one money pit to another..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
200p Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Classic boiler plate land sale scam with a sophisticated twist....... If ti looks to good to be true then it almost............. They are getting quite sophisticated these days... Scams attract the lazy. So Scam masters need a decent London address, because most internet "investors" would use Google Street View to look at the offices to see if the brokers are legit. The address at the Gherkin won't be the first nor the last place where these people will work from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy_renting Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 What did these idiots think would happen to the land value when the World Cup was over, anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.