MAS ‘fools’ investors to warn against scams in new ad campaign
Screenshot of the Santa Quay Resorts website.
SINGAPORE — At first glance, it looks like a dream come true: Pay as little as S$10,000 for your own beach resort, and get the capital back after two years, on top of guaranteed returns of 24 per cent per annum.
Unsuspecting individuals who click through to SantaQuay Resorts’ website, advertised as an “opportunity of a lifetime” on various print media and online platforms from April 2 to April 10, would soon learn that they should not have fallen for a deal that was too good to be true.
SantaQuay is, in fact, the fictional centrepiece of an atypical campaign to raise awareness of investment scams, dreamt up by the Securities Investors Association and national financial education programme MoneySENSE.
Those who go to the SantaQuay website and indicate how much they want to invest will be told they have been “scammed”. General tips to avoid falling for dodgy deals will also be shown to them, such as the importance of carrying out checks before shelling out money and what some of the common red flags of investment scams include. For instance, these scams could promise unrealistically attractive returns with capital protection, or pressure would-be victims into making a quick mistake by stressing that the offer would only last for a limited time.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which chairs the Financial Education Steering Committee that MoneySENSE comes under, said it hopes the “first-hand experience” of being enticed by an investment scam would help investors become savvier.
“Ultimately we want to empower investors with the knowledge and skill sets, and to be able to critically assess if any investment opportunity may be ‘too good to be true’,” said an MAS’ spokesperson.
This education campaign comes after a spate of high-profile investment scams here in recent years. For instance, offshore sports arbitrage betting company Keystone cheated 20 individuals of almost S$1 million. In 2015, two directors of land banking firm Profitable Plots were jailed for making false representations to investors.
Commenting on the effectiveness of the idea for this education campaign, marketing and property analysts felt the message would sink in for the prospective victims.
Mr Jeff Cheong, president of creative agency Tribal Worldwide Singapore, noted that the fake ads had the “right ingredients”, such as fancy videos.
“This is a targeted campaign that speaks to the audience who is out for a good deal. The first-person experience provides a balance of realism and educational content to deal with potential scams,” said Mr Cheong. One way to increase reach of the campaign, he suggested, would be to include a “trick a friend” feature.
International Property Advisor’s chief executive Ku Swee Yong said the advertisement was a good attempt but could be “made more realistic or by using a similar past case (of an investment scam)”.
Individuals who click through and “realise (their) own stupidity and greed” also might not necessarily wise up for good, he noted.
Retiree Irene Ng, 61, who has made some property investments, said the ad did not pique her interest as it seemed “too good to be true”.
“I also had many questions, like where in the world is this SantaQuay,” she said.
