We all want to be financially secure, although how much money we need to satisfy our needs will certainly vary from individual to individual and family to family. However, especially in our current reality of instability and rising prices, it would be very appealing to cross off ‘financial stability’ from our to do list. What is the quickest and most effective way to do that?
One of the most successful and well-known investors in the world, Warren Buffet, has a few simple rules for investing. Rule number 1 is don’t lose money. Rule number 2 is never forget rule number 1. But what exactly does that mean? Everyone can make bad decisions sometimes and lose money. How can we ensure that our investments only make money?
Whereas we can’t ever guarantee only success, we can certainly minimize losses by correct behavior. We have met countless people over the years who have come in to talk to us after they have lost money due to fraud and various deceptions. And I’m not referring to small amounts, unfortunately. It can be hundreds and thousands and even millions of dollars. It can be caused by a combination of bad investment decisions, lack of due diligence, naivete and affinity fraud to name just a few of the reasons behind the possible source of the deception.
Another example is in the crypto world. While it seems to me that everyone is talking about how they are making money with bitcoin and crypto, with prices rocketing higher and higher, almost everyone I speak to has lost money trading crypto. Although not necessarily in amounts like the recent headline case of a victim who had 69.3 million dollars stolen via address poisoning. But those I spoke to suffered losses, nonetheless.
So how do you avoid falling into this pit of bad investing?
Tips to avoid fraud (crypto and all types of investment schemes)
- Never feel pressured to provide information, or commit to something immediately, regardless of how persuasive the contact and/or content may be, or what form it takes (email, phone call, sms etc).
- No bank or financial institution will reach out to you to ask for passwords or any kind of private information. If you aren’t sure of the legitimacy of the contact, you should go online – by typing in the address, not copying it from any communication you may have received from the potentially suspect source, or reach out to the organization via phone, or whichever method of contact you are most comfortable with, in an independent manner to confirm with whom and about what needs clarification.
- Due diligence of an investment idea is much more than speaking to a friend or doing a cursory search online. Involve a professional who can help you if you feel you have any doubt whatsoever.
- While getting investment ideas by networking is fine, just don’t rely on the fact that someone else invested in something. Affinity fraud, where people who belong to a particular community are targeted, is one of the most common deceits out there.
- Be wary of emotions drawn out in a sales process. Too hot or too cold a presentation is meant to manipulate your emotions. Using technical terms or secret inside information are meant to confuse and trick.
- Always check carefully crypto addresses and never just reply to an address that looks like it’s correct. (The address poisoning mentioned above is when fraudsters create a very similar address and pull the account owner in when he replies to that address.)
- Never copy and paste your crypto address or reply without first checking the legitimacy of the source.
Why do we take risks?
There are ads online, in our feeds and in print media constantly promising very high rates of return with negligible risk. However, those two elements just don’t go together. Any investment that offers very high rates of potential return has similarly high risk. You need to learn where the risk exists and understand whether you are prepared to take that type of chance. Don’t ever be persuaded otherwise, even if you have seen the ad in a forum/publication that you trust or heard about it from family and/or friends.
Those most tempted to take risks are those who don’t have enough time to invest in more orthodox channels. They will take that very high risk and pray that they’ll make money from those who often are preying on a specific group (see affinity fraud above)– whether it is a group that is vulnerable due to their financial situation or their age. And the higher the level of ignorance the greater the chance that they’ll fall victim to this kind of situation.
There is no substitute for long term investing. Building wealth is hard work; saving for the future and putting in the time and effort to fund an appropriate investment vehicle takes time and effort. Much as we are tempted, we can’t look to shortcuts to fill large holes in our financial plan. It is crucial to build a long-term plan and investment structure so that you provide for your future self and your loved ones.
With continued and heartfelt prayers for the safe return of our hostages, the safety of our soldiers in all their missions, and the security of our nation.