A father of two has been left feeling “humiliated” after being tricked into investing the family’s life savings into a too-good-to-be-true investment portfolio.
Borja Ares, 37, a Spanish national living in New Zealand, was contacted by scammers claiming to be investment brokers after submitting his details to a comparison site, the New Zealand Herald reports.
He and his wife had sold their house in May and were looking to invest the proceeds until repurchasing. The family amassed a total of $330,000 (around £158,600), which included savings as well as money sent from Mr Ares’ mother to support the couple and their children.
He was contacted by two men, one claiming to be a broker from a renowned global investment bank, who vied to convince Mr Ares to invest in their portfolios.
Mr Ares took one of them up, describing what he heard to be a “soft-spoken Englishman” who seemed “really sincere”.
The fraudster then provided prospectus information about a range of investment options before Mr Ares settled on a fixed rate bond that “promised” a generous annual interest rate of 13.5 percent.
Mr Ares was told the bond investment was triple-A rated, which means it would have a high degree of creditworthiness. He was told it would be low-risk and he’d also have the option to withdraw his money at any time.
Mr Ares told the NZ Herald: “It was perfect. I was fully convinced. I felt my money was very safe.”
The scammers were using what seemed to be legitimate Auckland phone numbers and the broker Mr Ares was dealing with appeared to have a LinkedIn profile linked to the investment bank, which reassured Mr Ares about the investment.
Mr Ares said: “I tend to be very safe in what I do. But I never doubted that they were genuine and every time I conducted a little due diligence I felt better.”
He planned to invest $250,000 at first, however, the fraudsters encouraged him to commit his entire savings instead.
It was only when the couple discussed the investment and generous interest rate out loud to extended family over dinner that it dawned on Mr Ares that it was “too good to be true”.
He said it felt like “a bubble exploded”, before rushing to search for potential scams of the same nature. Unfortunately, he was met with several recent examples and found the scam to be “well known” to banks in New Zealand.
Mr Ares said: “I am more upset and angry, and as the day goes by I start feeling like an idiot, that I’ve failed my wife and children. It’s like a rollercoaster.”
He said his wife didn’t blame him and she was the “rock holding the family” together, adding: “We are safe, the children are safe, so that’s the solace we take.”
Source: Expressnews.co.uk