The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) will tell you that, properly directed, marketing, done well, does work, which is why most companies still do it either by email or the dreaded 'Phone call.
It's also why online and direct mail fraudsters still do it.
Talking on the telephone is relaxed - so is emailing (although I personally wouldn't agree!)
Either way, being relaxed whilst you are communicating can make you vulnerable to agreeing to something that you might normally not agree to.
At least with the DMA and with genuine businesses you get straight answers (most of the time) and a 14-day cooling off period.
But with fraudsters, you don't get any of that. So here are 9 signs or red flags to watch out for.
1. Failing to tell you who they are by launching straight into why they are calling. Always find out who you are dealing with.
2. Suggesting a rate of return eg “6% and no risk” on an investment which is unrealistic – (someone we know recently got several calls from a company the FCA lists as unregulated and unfit to do business in the UK suggesting just this.)
3. Persistency and repetition of points – pushy and sometimes even aggressive, or alternatively charming, all to get you to give in.
4. Being told you are special or the offer is special; available only to knowledgeable investors such as you.
5. Behavioural quirks – eg where they have half an answer in a question looking for you to give the other half in your answer; we all want to fill the gap. If they are who they say they are they should know the answers.
6. Saying that there are no “legal loopholes” - an immediately worrying phrase. Be aware of the language used.
7. Emotional pressure involving some sort of emergency or some deadline; pressurising you into a response. Never sign up to an investment on the spot – always think about it.
8. If they won’t give you time to think or go back to them, you need to seriously think - why not?
9. And even the identities of HMRC and the FCA have been copied and used by fraudsters to make the fraud more realistic.
The focus here is to ensure that you don't fall for a scam in the first place; once your money is scammed you will probably never see it again.
Even when the authorities try to find it, it has usually long gone and disappeared into the ether.
As the old cliché goes; If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is.
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