How I was nearly scammed. Everything looked good and I never thought it was a scam.

January 26, 2025

Find out how the bank saved me from a scam. I couldn’t see how I could be scammed.

The Bank saved me from a scam. I wasn’t making an investment, I was seeking investment, so how could I be scammed?

I have been seeking investment for Silverskys, primarily for development and marketing. Thus I joined various groups that match investors to those seeking investment. I had a business plan and financial forecasts to show to interested parties.

I had several enquiries and after I sent out documentation, one in particular caught my attention as he enthused about how he was in line with what the business was hoping to achieve and the societal benefits of the venture.

We emailed and talked over a few months. He asked the questions I would expect, and I did due diligence via Google /LinkedIn and was impressed by his business experience which included Chairmanships of a variety of businesses and investments in various sectors. I did wonder why a successful Thai businessman showed such interest, but he talked about how he and his team could assist with future plans.

Before long I received an investment agreement which included the clauses one would expect in such a document. It detailed how before the investment could be made both parties would be subject to regulatory requirements for when Thais’ invest in overseas businesses. This would be to safeguard both parties against money laundering and criminal activities. A regulator would be appointed by the Thai court to inspect and approve documents.

Documents were asked for and sent and a request for payment of the due fee of £2.5k.

This is when my bank stepped in as they refused to authorise the payment to the regulator. Despite conversations with the fraud department, my acceptance of liability and visiting the local branch to prove my identity and show documents, they refused to budge.

How glad I am that they did because it was a scam. I suppose there were red flags “a deal perhaps too good to be true” “speed with which agreement was reached” and the clincher “the regulator could not provide any documentation supporting his appointment by the court”.

Naturally, I am disappointed that this was not a genuine investment but at least thanks to the diligence of the bank I hadn’t parted with £2.5k. I have a grudging respect for the scam as I would never have thought seeking investment could result in a scam. If I was an investor, I would be on my guard but as is the case with most scams, my scammer was preying on my desire for a solution to something I was seeking.

Eventually, I did make contact with the real person my investor was impersonating, and he confirmed that his name was used continually to lure others into the scam.

What I’ve learnt is to be careful with anything involving the transfer of money no matter how plausible it may be.

There any number of financial scams so worth reading our post Financial Scams and how to spot them.