Watch Out! Stupid Investments Promise Unreasonable Profits, Here's How To Avoid It

Head of Public Relations of the Central Java Police Kombes Pol M Iqbal Al Qudusy/ Photo: Doc. Central Java Police

SEMARANG – The number of victims of fraudulent investments has made the Central Java Police pay special attention. How not, the number of victims of fraudulent investment in Central Java is very much. When calculated, the number of victims can reach thousands of people with losses of hundreds of trillions of rupiah.

Data from the Investment Alert Task Force (SWI) recorded that losses due to fraudulent investments reached Rp. 117.5 trillion in the last 10 years. This is based on report data from 2011 to the end of 2021.

The fraudulent or illegal investment modes that have been troubling the public have been fraudulent, ranging from illegal online loans, fraudulent buying and selling of illegal crypto assets, fraudulent foreign currency trading, illegal multilevel marketing, to illegal pawning.

Related to this, the Central Java Police asked the public to be smart and critical of every investment offer.

The Head of the Central Java Regional Police, Kombes Pol M Iqbal Alqudusy asked the public to understand that the money to be invested is the result of hard work that needs to be managed carefully.

"Therefore, do not be easily swayed by the persuasion of investment offers. Moreover, potential investors do not really understand the field that will be used as investment land. If you are only interested in big profits or convincing presentation methods, then it could be a door to danger," said Kombes M Iqbal in a written statement, Friday, July 15.

There have actually been many appeals related to fraudulent investments by the government and investment experts. However, so far there are still many people who are victims of fraudulent investments.

For this reason, Iqbal hopes that people will always be careful when there is an offer and understand the possible risks and investment tips.

Iqbal said, there are a number of tips that can be used by the community when they are going to invest. The first thing to do is check the legality or licensing of investment companies at the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

“You can check through the OJK website or come directly. Because, a safe and reliable investment should already have a permit and be registered with the OJK. If you receive a futures or commodity investment offer, the company should have been registered with BAPPEBTI (Commodity Futures Trading Supervisory Agency). However, if the company name cannot be found, then there is no guarantee that the investment is legal,” he explained.

Secondly, he continued, people should not easily believe in unreasonable profit offers. Preferably, potential investors first ask how the business flow can reach a certain nominal profit.

“Beware if people or companies that offer too much investment promise too big a profit and tend to be unreasonable. Often this is what makes people easily trapped in fraudulent investments,” he said.

Third, Iqbal continued, so that the public as potential investors ask how the company carries out investments and do not rush to agree to invest when the company makes an offer.

One more thing, he said, people are to invest for the reason that they are afraid of being outdated or just joining in.

“This happens a lot, especially among young people. Some people then feel afraid of being outdated. As if, for those who have not invested, it means that they are not financially literate and do not think about the future. In fact, to invest not based on trends or opinions of others. However, self-preparation is in the form of sufficient funding and knowledge allocation," he continued.

He added that public interest in investing is a positive thing because it basically aims to set aside a portion of wealth to be saved and not used for consumptive things. With the hope, these savings can increase within a certain period of time and a realistic nominal.

“But people really need to act wisely and carefully. Don't let yourself fall into the trap and become the next victim of fraudulent investments," he said.