Illegal Investments Lose The Community IDR 117.5 Trillion, Tips To Avoid: Legal And Logical, And Don't Be Greedy!

JAKARTA - Head of the Financial Services Sector Investigation Department of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Tongam Lumban Tobing said that the public needs to increase awareness of the rise of investment offers and financial management.

According to him, with the rapid development of technology in the financial services sector, criminals cannot escape the target. In fact, the use of digital media sometimes obscures the main essence of investment so that customers do not realize that they have fallen into the trap of prohibited or illegal instruments.

“Actually, it's very simple when people get a high investment offer, just remember 2L, which is legal and logical. This legal means that the public must check its legal validity. While logical is related to the rationality of the given returns," he said in a virtual discussion related to binary options and trading robots on Monday, April 18.

Tongam added, there are times when the desire to get instant and big profits eliminates a clear way of thinking in making decisions.

"Sometimes rationality is inferior to our own greed, so don't let our greed lead to trouble," he said.

For information, public losses due to illegal investments or fraudulent investments from 2011 to 2022 have reached IDR 117.5 trillion.

"That's why we often say recognize the characteristics of illegal investments, such as promises of unreasonable profits, bonuses for recruiting new members, using community leaders to attract interest, not fully explaining the risks, and no clear legal entity protect the investment legally," he said.

Furthermore, Tongam, who also serves as the Chairman of the Investment Alert Task Force, explained that it is almost certain that the funds entered into illegal investment instruments cannot be returned in full.

"It's quite difficult, especially if the money has been used by the perpetrators or has been distributed to old members," he concluded.