| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : AUGUST 16, 1999 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| FINANCE
Psst! You Too Can Make a Killing! According to an expert on financial instruments, it appears Winthorpe did little or no trading and gave investors fabricated records THE CALL Winthorpe Grant broker cold calls investor, promises huge gains, and asks for a small amount of cash to start trading foreign currency, typically $2,000 to $4,000. Investor sends check. THE BAIT Broker sends ''statement'' back within 48 hours that shows investor made a profit, usually a few thousand dollars, thus winning the investor's confidence. THE HOOK Broker faxes ''electronic funds transfer'' request form to investor. The request is usually for $25,000. Investor signs and faxes back. Money is wired directly from investor's bank to Winthorpe Grant's bank. THE CATCH Broker tells investor he or she should send more money immediately to take advantage of some news event, typically about the yen or the euro. Investor complies. This is repeated several times. THE KILL Statements show that investor begins to lose money in large amounts. Typical losses are around $25,000, accompanied by minuscule gains, every few days until all the money is gone. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ BACK TO TOP |
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RELATED ITEMS Currency Trading or Currency Scam? TABLE: Psst! You Too Can Make a Killing! INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online | |||
