Just like everyone else, I’ve been constantly looking for a way to earn extra income as staying as an employee and just being dependent on my salary wouldn’t be enough. We have a lot of bills to pay and basic commodities will continuously increase in the coming years. That’s probably why fraudsters are becoming more prevalent and preying on hopeful investors. Investment scam is common nowadays. Everyone can fall victim, but some can be more vulnerable than others.
About a year ago, I saw an Ad on Facebook about this chicken farm company that’s looking for investors. Their program is simple; you invest a certain amount of money depending on the number of chicks you want to avail, then they’ll be the one to raise the chicks for you and sell them for a profit. You’ll then get a 50% ROI after 60 days. Below is a table of their rates and the possible ROI:
| Number of Chicks | Cost of Chicks | Capital | Total Return After 60 Days (1 harvest) |
| 35 | Php 100.00 | Php 3,500.00 | Php 5,250.00 |
| 75 | Php 100.00 | Php 7,500.00 | Php 11,250.00 |
| 100 | Php 100.00 | Php 10,000.00 | Php 15,000.00 |
| 200 | Php 100.00 | Php 20,000.00 | Php 30,000.00 |
| 500 | Php 100.00 | Php 50,000.00 | Php 75,000.00 |
| 1,000 | Php 100.00 | Php 100,000.00 | Php 150,000.00 |
| 2,500 | Php 100.00 | Php 250,000.00 | Php 375,000.00 |
| 5,000 | Php 100.00 | Php 500,000.00 | Php 750,000.00 |
What made them look promising is that they had permits to show for, an office, a contract, a website, and a farm you can visit which apparently wasn’t true. I’ll tell you more about it later.
I’ve been observing them for a few months while saving money for their minimum investment. I just wanted to see how things would turn out before finally deciding to invest. I thought what harm would it be if I tried since their minimum investment is only worth Php3,500. If ever it turned out to be all a sham at least I would only lose that much.
As it turns out, it was indeed an investment scam. I started noticing people commenting on their posts on Facebook saying that they haven’t received their ROI and not even their initial capital was returned. Some people started asking the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about the legitimacy of their chicken farm business since their investment would amount to Php100,000 up to Php500,000.
Apparently, they weren’t registered under SEC either as a corporation or partnership. Therefore, they weren’t authorized to solicit public funding. They were only registered under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) but used a different name. According to the NBI who was in charge of investigating them, when they raided their office they said the company wasn’t able to show any proof that they have a poultry farm.
I was fortunate enough to find out about this scam sooner than later. I hope no one else would fall victim to these kinds of schemes. Here are a few things you can do to help verify if an investment is legitimate:
1. Visit the company’s office
If it’s a local business, you can go directly to their office to investigate. You can drive around the premise first to check for any red flags. Usually, a business has signage outside with its logo, business name, and in some cases, their address and phone number on it, the facade should be well kept too. It would be better if you bring along someone with you instead of going there alone. If possible, do a walk-in visit, but if not, you can try to set a schedule with them.
Once you’re inside, check for legal documents such as BIR permit and business registrations, etc. Those are documents that can be easily seen as government officials inspect those once they conduct their visits to check for business compliance. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions as a legitimate company would be glad to accommodate inquiries in hopes of making a sale or gaining a new customer or investor.
2. Ask DTI or SEC
If a business is a sole proprietorship, it should be registered under the Department of Trade and Industry. While if it’s a partnership or corporation, it should be registered under the Securities and Exchange Commission. Both have their own website which is a convenient way to check if a business is registered or not.
DTI – https://bnrs.dti.gov.ph/search
SEC – http://www.sec.gov.ph/online-services/search-registered-companies/
Of course, it would be better if you can go there directly so you can ask questions personally. They might even be able to advise you on what to do if you really want to engage with that business. Here’s a checklist prepared by the SEC to identify an investment scam.
3. Check for reviews or news about them
Thankfully, we now live in a world where technology is continuously evolving, making resources available with just a click of a button. Do a simple Google search on the business you want to invest in. Look for reviews from those that have or had an experience transacting with them. Customer feedbacks are a great way to find out whether a business is trustworthy or not. If it has more negative feedback than positive ones, it would be best to stay away from it. However, even if it’s vice versa, it doesn’t mean it’s 100% safe, it would be wise to do the first 2 I’ve mentioned above.
Whether a business is new or already an established one, most of the time there would be news about them both good and bad. Read articles or watch the news about them to have a better idea of the legitimacy of their business. Be on a lookout for red flags, especially if a business has violated the law like the company that I almost transacted with.
4. Check their website
Whatever the nature of the business is, their website should always look professional as poorly managed websites would show the opposite. The company’s products and services along with their articles, if any, should be updated regularly with little to no spelling mistakes. Also, their office address, contact details such as email address, and phone number should be visible and easily seen in their about or contact page.
I hope the things I’ve mentioned above could help you in identifying if a company is legitimate or not so you won’t get scammed. If their offers or ROI is too good to be true, it probably is and it will most likely be an investment scam. However, of all the things I’ve mentioned above, it would be best to follow what your gut tells you as what we feel is probably right most of the time.
Have you or someone you know been a victim of an investment scam? Let us know your experience in the comments section below.
