Hot off a press conference at the Securities and Exchange Commission: The SEC, the Anti-Money Laundering Council and the SM Investments Corp. are warning the public against investing in SMFund.com, another online Ponzi scam similar to Deutchfrancs and Francswiss.
was considering filing a case against felt SMFund.com for using its trade name committed infringement of its trademark, and that they were coordinating with the SEC on possible courses of action (my bad. its very hard to pin down lawyers, whew, and this is the only wording they like). “We are not in any way connected with this company,” Atty. Corazon I. Morando, senior vice-president for legal and corporate affairs of SM Investments Corp. said. In fact, Morando’s team also discovered another website called SMInvestment.com “under construction” and this website was also disowned at the press conference as well.
Here is a screen shot of SMFund.com, log-in password courtesy of an INQUIRER.net reader:
I don’t blame the SM people for being very concerned. Their company’s original name was SM Fund, back in the mid-90s and I wouldn’t be surprised if operators and networkers of SMFund.com are namedropping Henry Sy all over the archipelago.
Whew. What is it with the rainy season? Scam artists seem to have sprouted overnight like gremlins. From Francswiss, Deutchfrancs, Swiss Cash, Universal Forex System, Global America and Private Forex Trade Inc., they seem to be invading the financial sector and trapping Filipinos out looking for a quick buck.
Elizabeth Sanchez-Lacson, a business reporter of Philippine Daily Inquirer, our parent company, asked several questions that packed some very hard punches. “How did you discover these scams? Do you just wait for complaints from victims? Or do you go out there to stop them?”
SEC director Hubert Guevara was visibly taken aback. “No, we don’t just wait for victims. Sometimes, it can just be a mere chismis (gossip) or a tip. We monitor blog sites. We act proactively so we can nip these things in the bud,” SEC director Hubert Guevara said.
I would agree that the government caught on early in the game, compared with the black saga that was Multitel. Rose Baladjay had more than a year to grow her empire before her whole operation broke down. Francswiss and Detuchfrancs had about two to three months of unimpeded operations before media latched on to the issue and exposed them for what they were.
The government may have some limitations in terms of running after scam operators, but once these scams are plastered in the news, the public would be warned and withdrawal of investments brought about by these exposure, more than anything else, bring down the scam.
Oh and let me just categorically say that nobody needs to pay me to write about these scams. I am paid a very good salary just to do my job well, thank you very much. Media don’t have to be bought. We hate scams. That is why we go after these stories like we do.
(Part 2 of this post regarding other points during the press conference coming up in a while)
“Nobody can be blamed for wanting to earn high returns. Unfortunately, scam operators are trying to get rich quickly at your expense. Investors in these operations are the ones getting poorer. We are warning the public not to fall prey to this scam,” AMLC executive director Atty. Vicente Aquino told reporters.Lawyers from SM Investments Corp. owned by mall king Henry Sy also told the media that the company
I don’t blame the SM people for being very concerned. Their company’s original name was SM Fund, back in the mid-90s and I wouldn’t be surprised if operators and networkers of SMFund.com are namedropping Henry Sy all over the archipelago.
Whew. What is it with the rainy season? Scam artists seem to have sprouted overnight like gremlins. From Francswiss, Deutchfrancs, Swiss Cash, Universal Forex System, Global America and Private Forex Trade Inc., they seem to be invading the financial sector and trapping Filipinos out looking for a quick buck.
Elizabeth Sanchez-Lacson, a business reporter of Philippine Daily Inquirer, our parent company, asked several questions that packed some very hard punches. “How did you discover these scams? Do you just wait for complaints from victims? Or do you go out there to stop them?”
SEC director Hubert Guevara was visibly taken aback. “No, we don’t just wait for victims. Sometimes, it can just be a mere chismis (gossip) or a tip. We monitor blog sites. We act proactively so we can nip these things in the bud,” SEC director Hubert Guevara said.
I would agree that the government caught on early in the game, compared with the black saga that was Multitel. Rose Baladjay had more than a year to grow her empire before her whole operation broke down. Francswiss and Detuchfrancs had about two to three months of unimpeded operations before media latched on to the issue and exposed them for what they were.
The government may have some limitations in terms of running after scam operators, but once these scams are plastered in the news, the public would be warned and withdrawal of investments brought about by these exposure, more than anything else, bring down the scam.
Oh and let me just categorically say that nobody needs to pay me to write about these scams. I am paid a very good salary just to do my job well, thank you very much. Media don’t have to be bought. We hate scams. That is why we go after these stories like we do.
(Part 2 of this post regarding other points during the press conference coming up in a while)
wow! ang lupet na talaga nga mga bastos na taong ito!
buti na lang if the people who put money in these things can afford to lose their so-called "investments". pano kung that was all they have for retirement or for their own "rainy day". garapal na talaga!
and please to those who still believe these scams are heaven-sent, please na lang pray to God to open up your eyes and see it for what it is: THIEVERY!
Scam artists seem to have sprouted overnight like gremlins.
- nah, it's been around the internet as much as hacking has been early on in its popularity. you might have been familiar with other scams such as those emails from somewhere in africa, (nigeria if i remember it right,) which tell of an immense fortune waiting to be deposited to your account if you reply with your bank account details.
it's just that the thing that works for these people, (easy exchange of information and ease of presenting such information professionally,) are the very same things that easily work against them.
Hi Salve! your Ponzi blog posts are fuming, eh? Before things go overboard let me share you Queena Lee-Chua's article on flaming comments on the net:
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view_article.php?article_id=65444
You can shop around for HYIP at hyipinvestment.com;
caution: Don't join
Filipinos just cant get stupid enough... 4 percent in return everyday!!! hell.. even good banks cant do that... its a simple logic "where would they get the money to pay the investors? from the subsequent investors, right?" ever heard of saturation point? ... yan dahil sa pagkagahaman sa pera kaya naloko.... BOBO talaga!!!!!!!
all i can say is mind your (CENSORED) business especially the media, if not w/ your crab mentality masaya pa lahat. pakialamero kayo, marami tuloy ang naloko. yah right kaya magpupuputak ang gobyerno at banko kasi di nila kaya magbigay ng ganung interest, at takot silang mawala ang cliente nila esp. yung mga OFW. wag kayong inggitero, ng dahil sa inyo (mga media,NBI) - na nanghihingi lang naman ng lagay, marami tuloy ang apektado (CENSORED PORTION)
royalking if you are saying filipino is stupid enough ikaw na ang number one you did'nt know that your money will be earning more than what you think or imagine somewhere else , tanga ka talaga di ka dapat king kasi tanga ka hahahahahah
huwag ilagay ang lahat ng itlog sa isang basket, bobo ka talaga kung ang entire retirement mo ilagay mo sa mga ganyang schemes. Basahin ninyo ang book ni Colayco. May mga taong risk taker, hindi mo sila masisisi. para sa akin okey lang yon basta maliit lang ang ilagay, kagaya ng lotto. by the way, yong foreign debt nating, hindi pa naaanak ang mga apo natin, may utang nang babayaran, isang uri ba ito ng ponzi scheme? sa sss at gsis pag naubos na ang pundo, sa ponzi scheme ba nakakasurvive? paki explain nga.
@S,
Kung hindi nakialam ang media at gobyerno mas maraming tao ang maloloko. May suggestion ako kung saan mo dapat ilagay ang pera mo, enroll in a Management course, take a Business Management para alam mo kung saan mo dadalhin ng tama ang pera mo o kaya Anger Management para alam mo kung saan mo dadalhin ng tama ang galit mo.
@ernesto,
May explanation ang pamangkin kong Grade 1. Hindi daw ponzi scheme ang GSIS at SSS. Nakakasurvive daw ito sa mga tubong interes ng mga umuutang na miyembro.
Waaaaaahhhh! kala ko natahimik na sila yun pala may humihirit pa! hehehe
@ernesto, pasensya na medyo slow ako pero ano kinalaman ng foreign debt, gsis at sss sa ponzi scheme???
Well you cant blame Pinoys if they just want to earn EXTRA on the side. Point is its better than selling drugs. HEHEHE... anyhow, kung kumita ka well and GOOD. yung mga naloko better luck next time. And for those who have no funds to invest, sorry this is where the rich gets richer and the poor poorer!
scud
hindi nga nacaca sustain ang kita sa interest at pumapalpak nga ang ibang investment kaya nga nag increase ng contribution. ang tanong kong nauubusan na ng pundo di doon kinukuha ang pang gastos sa ibang miembro, di parang pons zi scheme na rin. sa foreign debt, diba ang nagbabayad sa utang yong future generation, yong nasa baba ang dihado. mahina ang analogy ng grade 1. low IQ seguro. Ang mechanism na iyan ay di necessary masama. kagaya ng pera, hindi masama per se. ang nagpapasama kung paano ginagamit. maraming ways para gamitin sa mabuti, para sa akin kung iregulate ng government, itax at bawasan ang kita, i insure na walang dollar salting, marami ang matutulongan na mahirap, mag i increase ang buying capacity ng bawat family, makaka improve sa economy. ang gobierno naggagastos pa nga ng billions para i pump prime ang economy. feeling k0 lang ito dapat i prove sa isang independent study. by the way wag kayong magalit openion ko lang ito na dapat i respect at kahit magpatulong pa kayo sa nbi hindi aco kasali sa FS. Ang isip ko lang, na invent na ang maraming bagay kagaya ng internet, hindi pa na sosolve ang poverty.
Yong kita ng sss hindi nakakasustain, kung ang investments pumapalpak, ang tanong kong nauubusan na ng pondo, saan kukuha ng pang gastos di sa ibang nag cocontribute, kaya nga nag dagdag ng contribution, di parang ponzi scheme. Ang foreign debt, di ba ang future generation ang nag babayad, di parang ponzi scheme. Hindi ang scheme ang masama, kung paano ginagamit ang nagpapasama, kagaya ng pera. para sa akin, kong i regulate ng government, bawasan ang kita, i tax, at hindi makasalt ng dollar, makakatulong sa mga mahihirap, baka makatulong sa economy kasi mag i increase ang buying power ng bawat family. ang government naggagastos pa nga ng billions para i punp prime ang economy,kaya lang dapat i prove ng independent study. openion ko lang ito na dapat i respect kasi na invent na ang maraming bagay kagaya ng internet pero hindi pa ma solve ang poverty.
ang galing mo ernesto, saludo ako sa explanation mo. pls. turuan mo pang mabuti si S C U D. kawawa naman ito at pati sa wlang malay na grade 1 eh dinadamay pa.
tama ka ernesto ,ako di rin naman kasali sa fs talagang nanggigigil lang ako eh at wala kayong pakialam kung gusto ng mga taong yan na sumugal!buti nga may mga ganung bagay na nagbibigay sa kanila ng pag asa eh ang gobyerno kaya bang gawin yun?!!!sa lahat ng negosyo sugal ang labanan!!!gusto lang nilang umahon sa kahirapan!!!***cge mag enrol ka ng management course tapos magkano lang kikitain mo?kulang pa sa pangkain mo araw araw!!! hoy wag kayong makialaman pera nila yan!MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!EH DI NAMAN KAYO PINAKIKIALAMAN NG MGA TAONG YAN DIBA?!mga inggitero!!!tama yung isa CRAB MENTALITY!!! ***
SMfund? SCAM?
Scam? so explain before we can complain.
Investing to sm fund or to any pyramiding scam is a sure "GAMBLE". Kung sino man ang sumasali sa anumang scam, nakakaintindi yon na sugal ang pinapasukan niya. SANA, sa mga intrigiro at mga inggitiro, hindi sila makikialam kasi hindi naman sa kanila ang perang sinugal ng mga investors..... Ikanga, "MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS" ba.....
Pwede ba? Kung wala kang perang pang-invest, tatahimik ka na lang???? Investing to any pyramiding scam is for people with extra money to invest.....
@mina:
please DO NOT mention "pyramiding scam" (sic) and investing in the same sentence again...you obviously do not know the meaning of the latter...
@smile:
the reason these articles/comments were posted is to keep people away from scam artists like yourself and mina...you and your kind are no different from your everyday snatcher/magnanakaw/holdaper...
mahiya nga kayo sa pinagsasabi nyo...LMAO...
a scam is a scam is a scam is a scam...
well you get the picture...
its just sad that scammers have to take advantage of the naive/ignorant/gullible to put food on their own tables...
“MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS” philosophy is a sure way to anarchy (lawlessness). An example goes like:
1. Our politicians are powerful so it's ok for them to be corrupt.
2. For those poor people without influence: MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS! Or perhaps better luck next time.
People who say these things are lacking in conscience. I'd like to see them get stuck with the wrong end of the sword. Let's see if they will still spout the same nonsense. Personally, I think they'll be begging for help like the spineless worms they are.
I posted some comments before anyway, because lots of your stuff is really informative.Absolutely amazing man!