Previously, we looked at
Most Commonly Used Tricks by Investment & MLM Scamswhich
contributed by stopscams007 from Low Yat Forum. He also make a good
compilation on the hottest scams in Malaysia. I hope with the list we
are more aware of potential scams and lesser people will fall to be
victims.
Here are the lists.
1.) The Cafe Scams – Island
Red Cafe & Stevens Corner(strange, both in Pandan Indah) – Island Red Cafe
collects members RM6,000 each and promised 5% return every month and
even give you a name in the ROC as a shareholder but what’s the point
when they run away ? Stevens Corner, the famous indian coffee shop
follows due to drop of business since their renovation. They
collect
RM3,000 per member and promise return of RM150 monthly and plans to
open nice fanchisee cafe called StevensTeaGarden. Someone mentioned they
will make you sign an agreement that give them the rights NOT to pay
you anything in future. If you really wish to join, ask for a copy of
their agreement and consult
your lawyer BEFORE paying them. Bet you will NOT get a copy. Both collect
monies
from new members with MLM recruitment schemes and pay the old members
like Sunshine Empire. You never know when they will run away.
2.) Sunshine Empire –
This licensed and legal Company has an impressive office at the ground
level of KUB building along Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, near Menara Public Bank
and AmBank Building. They also have a showroom office at the ground
level in the next building. 2 or 3 months ago, Singapore’s Straits Times
and The Paper published big news reminding their people to be careful
and NOT to believe in them. Hope someone can put up the link or google
for it.(As expected, they STOPPED paying back members now and all
investors LOST their money).
Someone below has put a link to the Singapore news. In fact there are
more to it. Although Singapore is investigating them, they did not stop
their business as the business is legal and so far, no Singaporean have
failed to receive their commissions as promised. Thus, the government
cannot stop them yet.
The news published that the founder, director and group president is
someone named James Phang but he is NOT the owner. Isn’t this quite
strange ? At the end of the game, James Phang can just disappear from
the Company easily and claimed that he was just “employed”. Such trick
always happened in scam businesses.
Now, the Company has STOPPED paying commissions and interests to
members with the excuse that the Singapore government has freezed their
bank account while under investigation. Do you think their boss will be
so stupid to keep much monies in the bank to be freezed ? They are all
transfered away. It’s just an excuses not to pay back to members and
members are only paid “e-bonus-points” which is cashless. If they wish
to convert to cash, they have to recruit new members to pay them cash
and the recruiter less out trom the amount. So victims act like Vampires
and “forced” to victimise other victims if they wish to get their monies back. And their victims will later transform to vampires and the scam carries on…..
3.) MOBILWALLET – This Company owned by 2 young men, Stanley & Rey Gan, office in Queens Avenue Park has collect multi-millions the last 2 years. Claimed that they tied up with Telekoms, Utility Board payment like Water &
Electricity bills, even Maybank got fooled by them.
Advertisement Billboards
everywhere. They STOPPED paying back their members few months ago and
the members cannot do anything because they are made to sign an
agreement unaware that they have to claims if the company stopped paying
them by CHANGING terms and policies.
4.) Water businesses – Oxygenated and
alkaline water
products – Some of these are bottled water and some are filters or
equipment that claimed the trick. One of the better known Company that
sold “oxygen” water is SITO(supposed to stand for Selangor International
Trading Organiszation and claimed Selangor State Government owned some
share in it). The key person and founder is a Dato Robert Ong from
Rawang but his name is no longer
in the business
now. Their products are sold for RM2 to RM3 for a 350ml bottle and now
concentrating mostly in the Indian market. Their Chinese and Malays
market are long gone since a year or 2 ago. Their customers are made to
believe that their water has more oxygen and able to give miraculous
effects for the body. Water is H2O, how to put more O into it ? Anyone
knows how much oxygen do we breathe into our body everyday at FOC ?
Latest news is that this SITO Company is going to create new label to
market under a new Company since the SITO name has already gone bad.
Someone informed that this Company is owing alot of money(due to
refunds) to ex-stockists but just refuse to pay them.
(Latest news, SITO shifted to another place and their MLM business has
closed but planning to start again with a different name, beware !!)
Alkaline Products – Can anyone explain how it can work for the body ?
The stomach’s gastric liquid is so acidic that water of any pH that goes
through it will not make any difference.
5.) Car Fuel Booster – K-Link, the famous scam MLM
Company that sold the footpatch TAKARA, later the “cock-ring” and
energy-card launched the patrol-saving pills last year. Got so hot that
even grocery shops are selling for them. Recently many of these cars
that used the pills are rushing to the workshops to clean the residual.
Few months ago, another MLM Company launched a fuel booster gadget,
claimed that saves up to 20% fuel, that is attached to the cigarette
lighter. Started off well using binary plan but businese begin to fade
now and most users find it NOT effective.
6.) Perfumery Products (eg. Lampe Berger & Bel
Air)(more details later). Lampe Berger is not so hot now in the
neighbouring countries but there are still new victims every month in
Malaysia. Must thanks to those who have contributed and kept the thread
alive here in Kopitiam. Bel-Air have closed in Malaysia. LB is almost
zero in Singapore. This perfumery product from France with over 100
years history are just bottles and fragrances(check the factory’s
website) but the Company marketing them in Asia claimed “aromatheraphy”
products. Hong Kong TVB aired a program that exposed their scam but
their members claimed that HK’s TVB already apologised to them(no
evidence, of course). Note that the biggest strenght in a
MLM Scam
is their members will go all the way to lie in order to defend for
their Company. The reason is simple; these members fear that they will
not be able to make their
money back
if the Company collapsed. Knowing that the Lampe Berger products are
moving slow, they add a line of skincare products named Estebel, also
claime to have over 100 years history in France.(Hardly anymore Chinese
newcomers, they are now tapping the Malays in Malaysia). Mostly only
Bumis active members now but their top earner Steven Yeam have already
left and started a
new MLM Company(see NEW SCAMS below).
7.) Energy Products (eg. stone pendants, bracelets,
mattress
and pillows). They use all sorts of gimmicks and demonstration to make
you into believing them. They will do some tricks and demo to prove that
these products really produce energy BUT is there any tricks in their
demo ? So what if there really produce energy; is it good or strong
enough to help the body ? Are those simple products made of some simple
materials worth RM300 to up to RM3000 each ? The effect is actually
PLACEBO which I will elaborate in a new thread soon.(more details later)
8.) Hi-Tech products (names like bio-tech, nano-tech
that claimed millions of dollars of research involved, eg Bio-Young and
XKL few years ago). Most of these will claimed a professor behind
them(even with name and picture of a person) or used words like “U.S.A.
formula”, “German Technology” or “Nanotechnology” but with no further
details. If you ask for more details like the professor or factory’s
address, the answer will be “trade secrets”.
9.) Investment Schemes – SWISSCASH is the King of
all. Swisscash is nearly over now but there are many similar and smaller
ones that are still on.(Now, it’s closed or stopped paying back
members)
10.) GoldQuest – This Company that claimed to be
HK-based started with some non-value gold-plated coins that are sold for
over RM2,000 have several names and changed products several times.
QuestVacation, QuestNet, etc. They have several offices in Amcorp Mall,
PJ and their key person(in fact, the owner), a Malaysian Indian was
arrested last year in Indonesia for having involved in a very big
Phillipines scam. Most of their overseas offices are closed or inactive
but their Malaysia business is still hot, with some “energy”
products.(Can someone please provide a link which showed the news that
their boss was involved in a big scam in Philippines and was arrested
last year ?)
11.) Numerology & Fortune telling – A Company
named Visiber is using MLM to sell fortune telling classes using your
birthday based on Numerology fortune telling. Prpspects will be told
that they need to buy a certain “number” between 1 to 9 in the form of
pendants or bracelets made of silver with stainless steel or platinum
plated, and sold from RM600 to RM20,000. Customers, or rather victims
are mostly females from rural areas. Very hot in Penang now and a number
of spin-off Companies have started.
12.) MJ-Life – This Company boost of a very big
background with many many years of history which is NOT true. Their
people or associates may be long in business but nothing to do with
their MLM launched recently. Why do I consider it a scam or bad ? New
members are told to pay a sum of money(up to RM1000) and you get NOTHING
for it. You only get a membership can entitle you to enjoy all sorts of
special price and discounts when you have medical check-ups in their
centres. They will claim all those check-ups cost more if done
elsewhere. It’s not true. Only the naive and those new to medical
check-ups will fall victims to them. Most members who paid the money
ended up with nothing.
13.) Seaweed Venture Scams – 1 such Company is
located in Taman Maluri, Cheras. They will ask you to invest a few
thousands ringgits for their venture of growing seaweeds in East
Malaysia and you are guaranteed returns. To gain your confidence
further, they will tell you your investment money is secured by
“insurance” or “unit trusts” & “trustees”. When you ask for further
documents to prove, they will give all sorts of excuses or just ignore
you because they know they cannot get you. These Seaweed scam is one of
the hottest now, warn all your friends about it before they are
victimised.
14.) MXM(previously MGM) – This is a master scam
owned by a Dato Kam(Pathlab) tapping the younger group, very successful 2
or 3 years ago but since they moved to their big 10-storey office at
Phileo Damansara and changed name to MXM, their business dropped. They
collect members RM3,000 to RM4,000 with credit card monthly easy payment
and in return you get a hospital benefits insurance from Pacific
Insurance worth only a few hundred RMs together with some you-don’t-need
medical check-ups from their associate Company Pathlab. Also talk about
fitness, lifestyles bullshit that is all worthless.
15.) Gano Excel/I-Touch Life/GEW2u – This company
from the north, a copycat of DXN selling Lingzhi capsules created a new
Company called Gano iTouch to cash-in on the internet like e-Cosway
after their Company went down the drain since the last 2 years, selling
Linzhi and some no-value energy pendants and alkaline water gadgets.
They provide free transport every weekend from KL to visit their Alor
Star office. It did not work well and recently in mid-2009 changed name
to GEW.
16.) NuLife(HK) – This Company started by some HK
people has been in Malaysia for more than 10 years but they have flopped
in HK and Malaysia due to bad management and a product scam making use
of a prosecuted American named Dr Jeffrey Bland, found guilty of false
products claim. Since this case in the US leaked out and many Malaysians
found out that the real boss in HK is a Steven Tang(he cheated many
Malaysians in another scheme about 20 years ago) their business went
down all the way. Now they claim Malaysian partners cheated them and
start a new Company in Malaysia. Watch out, this new Company will come
out with some investment scheme idea that will get many to lose their
money.
17.) Arowana Fish Breeding, Oora from Germany, Biofuel
(Kompleks Maluri) etc – These are some newer scams. Arowana fish
venture ask you to invest some money and give you fixed return. Biofuel
will tell you their Indonesia connections(just like Sunshine Empire
before using Taiwan) & Oora from Germany(I never trust those cruel
Germans) that market some bio-chips and a gadget that claims to give
energy and therapeutic effects of accupunture, tai-chi, yoga, etc
depending how you set the toy-like gadget, wear it on your body and you
get the effect later. They could not explain or provide any
demonstration to prove their effectiveness. Only doctors and papers
claim that I will never trust. The health effect is actually PLACEBO,
which I will elaborate in a different thread.
18.) Easy-Pharmax – How could I missed this out
earlier. I thought I mentioned this until I got e-mails asking me about
it. This is easily in the TOP 3 during the last 2 years. Owned by a Dato
Yeap(another Dato !!) Members are tricked to invest up to RM40,000 with
the false promise that the Company will use e-commerce and online
selling to dispose their goods and recover their monies. It won’t
happen, of course.
19.) Gold Investment Scheme – This is an old trick
but back again by several Companies promising a GURANTEE FIXED RETURN
income like many other schemes. Try to ask for a copy of their fixed
return agreement and consult your lawyer. Common sense tell you any
business that promises a fixed return to UNLIMITED numbers of investors,
higher than bank interests must be a scam.
20.) Score-A or Skor-A – This Company sells you an
online program of past Malaysian examinations papers for primary and
secondary school students for self-testing for up to a few hundred RMs
per membership. It actually cost them nothing. Members are told to
invest in a few units, again using MLM with the promise of getting rich.
The same program can be purchased from Utusan for just a fraction of
their price and you can get better programs.
NEW SCAMS
21.) GRI (Global Royal International) – The boss
behind this scheme is multi-billionaire James Pang(the big scammer
waiting for trial in Singapore because of Sunshine Empire). Before
Sunshine Empire, he operated NOP and SwissCash. This time, he is using a
lot of representatives and MLM leaders since his passport is held by
Singapore government and he cannot come to Malaysia. I am told that
anyone who is bold enough to call himself a MLM leader in Malaysia can
visit his rep in Malaysia or Singapre and they will be given at least
RM5,000 as some expenses subdsidy if you are willing to market for them.
22.) One Community Worldwide – Tapping a mostly Bumi
market and owned by Steven Yeam(SYN) and Willie Lim of Lampe Berger
previously(the Chinese no longer trust them). They are selling a
negative ion mattress for RM25,000 !! The same modal, I have seen before
for RM2000 from Korea. If you cannot afford RM25K ??? You can buy
therapy package for RM300. Don’t believe in such product ? You can go
for some chlorostrum(virgin cow’s milk from nowhere)
23.) English-Learning Program Online – ESL(an online
English learning program) You are asked to pay RM100 for one or 2 years
usage of online learning. Started by a Malaysian Indian man by the name
of Dr. Edward, this program has changed names at least 2 or 3 times
since the last one year due to poor response and a lot of “technical
problems”. I consider it a scam because you are paying money for nothing
tangible to direct-selling company through MLM and their program has
been very “unstable” as my source put it.
24.) Genius Theme’s vacation and rewards package.
Such timeshare holidays scheme are being sold for RM400 to RM499 and you
are promised a few nights stay in Thailand or Bali. Started by a
Company name Max Generation, they wholesale to some MLM Company and
other Company like Sen Heng, one of them is Genius Theme, a subsidy of a
Maxis agent Company. Looks like many people will lose money. If this
Company runs away, those hotels and the MLM Companies need NOT be
responsible. Genius Theme is using MLM and direct sale to sell for RM499
or RM599(include a flying experience) while Sen Heng is giving it away
free if you purchase over RM2000 products. Of course, they are othere
hidden costs to be paid, it’s NOT really free unless you pay MORE
upfront.
25.) Another one is an “online gaming” program using MLM, started by Steve Tan, founder of Xango in Malaysia, also aimed at youngsters.
Here is the original post in the LowYat Forum.
Disclaimer : The list was provided by
stopscams007, a member of LowYat Forum. The author of this blog does not
in any way endorse the companies in this list as scams. This article is
for educating Malaysian public to be more careful before investing
their money in any similar scheme. If you are the owner of any these
company and your business are legit, kindly contact me to remove your company name from the list.
http://1-million-dollar-blog.com/hottest-scams-in-malaysia/
