Other recent entries in this blog:
21 August 2008
High Yield Offshore Investment Programs: Do They Exist?
You are approached by a friend or relative who says, “I have got a great
way you can make money! You can earn 50% per month, compounded, on this scheme.
It’s not reported to the tax authorities. It’s how the super-rich
bankers make their money. You normally need at least ten million to get in,
but through my friend you can start with $5,000! I’ve been doing it for
the last four months and it really works….Look, why don’t you try
it out and see. There’s no risk anyway, because the returns are guaranteed.
You can be a millionaire by the end of the year!”
What would you do? Of course, what you should do is run, not walk, away as
quickly as possible. But you would be surprised how many people get out their
cheque books!
People often fall for these cons because they truly believe they are participating
in off-balance sheet trading carried out by senior management of big banks.
Or they think are being offered something that normally only the Rothschilds,
the Rockefellers and other wealthy families (the “illuminati”) have
the opportunity to participate in.
Bank Debenture Trading Programmes, Prime Bank Trading Instruments, Roll-over
programmes, Instant High Yield Investment Programs, Standby Letters of Credit
- do these names ring a bell? They probably do because they sound very official
– but in reality they are meaningless.
"Do roll-over trading programmes really exist?"
It's a question I'm often asked.
"Yes," I answer, "They do. I’ve investigated them in some
depth over many years and they certainly do exist. I know many people who have
participated."
"Great! How do I get involved?"
"You don't!"
I don't mean to spoil the party here, but if you are thinking of putting your
money into a high-return secret offshore investment (by which I mean anything
that purports to get you a return of 20-30% per month or even more) then think
very carefully about the wisdom of doing this before sinking your hard earned
cash into a bottomless pit. Better, contact me first.
What if you’ve already been the victim of one of these scams? The chances
of getting your money back are low, but it’s not impossible and is certainly
worth trying, provided you don’t have to pay more money upfront. Time
is of the essence, and you should contact me immediately for a referral to people
who can help. Our expert contacts include a former Scotland Yard officer who
now specialises in due diligence on offshore hedge funds.
I've met clients who have, literally, taken out a second mortgage to join a
roll-over programme. I do know clients who have made a lot of money from what
they believe to be a legitimate high yield investment programme. Most of the
scammers who run these programs make some payouts, because that encourages positive
feedback and gets more victims to send money in. But I also know more people
who have lost the lot, because they were too greedy to know better.
If you would like to know more about this murkier side of offshore investment,
read the white paper “HYIP-Hype” which is available for free download
in the members’ section at www.QWealthReport.com.
Peter Macfarlane is joint editor of The Q Wealth Report an established
newsletter dedicated to informing readers about creating, protecting and growing
wealth in a secure offshore environment. It also covers international living,
banking, retiring and investing. Visit www.QWealthReport.com
to see more.
18 August 2008
Why taking a vacation can improve your health – and wealth!
Next week, I’ll be flying from the Caribbean over to Europe to enjoy
what I consider is the best time of year in Europe. Summer – when the
weather is great, and everybody’s more relaxed and happy. I’m taking
a month-long holiday.
Are you surprised? Jealous? You may be. You might be thinking “Peter
must be doing very nicely, thank you” or even “Peter doesn’t
care about his clients.” But I am confident my holidays will pay for themselves
many times over, and that the quality of my service and information for my clients
will improve once I return, refreshed and reinvigorated.
If you want to become wealthier and freer, you should seriously consider taking
this kind of vacation too. Here’s why.
If you’re anything like me, you are addicted to the internet. I get hundreds
of emails per day and process most of them myself. The daily influx grows all
the time. This year, I’ve added RSS feeds from many news sources and blogs
that I need to follow for my writing, which has generated hundreds if not thousands
more headlines to read – every day!
But here’s the secret. Once you realize that you can turn off the noise
for a few weeks without the world coming to an end, you will find yourself liberated
in a way that few people will ever know.
As a writer and businessman, having some time to get on with new projects undisturbed
is of great value. But even if you’re not a writer, all of us need free
time to contemplate without distractions. To spend time with family. To make
plans for the future. To take a step back and see how far we have come, and
set goals about where we really want to go. If we don’t know where we
are going, we are surely not going to get there!
The danger of being in constant communication with the world is
that you will fall into that classic trap of being “too busy earning a
living to make any real money.”
Many people go on vacation, but don’t turn off the Blackberry. And as
tempting as it is to "just check e-mail for one minute," it really
doesn’t work like that, does it? Any problem you find in your inbox will
linger on your mind for hours or days after you shut down the computer, rendering
"free time" useless with worry. It's the worst of states – you
experience neither relaxation nor productivity. Another important lesson I’ve
learned is that time without attention is worthless, so you should value
attention over time.
Will little problems happen? Yes. But put them in perespective. They can be
solved. It’s also a great opportunity for team confidence-building: force
your people to solve problems on their own, and you might be pleasantly surprised
at how things work out. It will build their confidence and your confidence in
them at the same time.
The important “big picture” thing is to move on with your
life, know where you are going, and make things happen to achieve your goals.
These things will more likely happen while you are sitting on the beach or by
the pool relaxing, than they will while you are sitting in an office answering
emails about trifling matters. And if you do make the time for the big picture
goals but you puncture this time with distractions, you won't have the attention
to make effective use of it.
The challenge is to allow urgent things to "fail" - even for a few
days - to get to the next level with your potential life-changing and wealth
creating tasks.
That’s the challenge I’ll be taking when I leave for my vacations
next week. You can do the same.
Look forward to more blog entries about Freedom, Wealth and Privacy. I hope
you enjoy them and that you can use the information here to benefit your business
and your life. In turn I would much appreciate your feedback, comments and questions.
I can be contacted via info@petermacfarlane.net
Just remember I won’t answer until mid-September!
Peter Macfarlane is joint editor of The Q Wealth Report an established
newsletter dedicated to informing readers about creating, protecting and growing
wealth in a secure offshore environment. It also covers international living,
banking, retiring and investing. Visit www.QWealthReport.com
to see more.
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Latest
25 entries from all other blogs:
07 September 2008
EU Defeated By Bean-Counters
05 September 2008
Offshore Banking: Failure to Open a Bank Account
31 August 2008
A New Lord Of Taxation
20 August 2008
Blacklisted Offshore: Private Consultant's Opinion
17 August 2008
Alphabet Soup
10 August 2008
Taxpayers: 1; India 0
07 August 2008
While Offshore Banking Giants are in Trouble
03 August 2008
It's All The Fault Of The Speculators
27 July 2008
Don't Play Poker With Uncle Sam
25 July 2008
Is Dominica Good for Your Offshore Business?
20 July 2008
'I Love Tax' - Anonymous Offshore Banker
09 March 2008
Goodbye To Privacy
20 February 2008
Panama Today, Tomorrow And Always
03 January 2008
Another Nail In The Currency Coffin
02 December 2007
Please Turn Out The Lights As You Leave
19 November 2007
Hands Off The Poor, Starving Tax Lawyers!
28 October 2007
The Death Of Corporation Tax
07 October 2007
How To Learn To Love Accounting Standards
23 September 2007
Caveat Emptor?
16 September 2007
No More Fat Cat Investments For Me!
09 September 2007
Flat Tax, Not Flat Earth, Please!
02 September 2007
On-Line Gaming Banned In The UK
26 August 2007
To Buy Or Not To Buy?
21 August 2007
The Last Supply-Sider Felled
14 August 2007
King Canute Spotted On Brighton Beach
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