When times are bad, unscrupulous people always find ways to survive and make money. These people set up companies and being registered under the Companies Act and licences obtained from other government agencies, their business looks genuine. Some acted like banks, giving investors or participants high returns for moneys they invested with these companies.

Public are reminded that although a company is registered under the Companies Act, but, if they look like deposit taking, please be wary about it. This is because they are not banks because only banks are allowed to take deposits with interest in return.

Currently, there is a company operating in Sarawak asking public to join the company upon payment of a small fee that entitled participants to "membership" of the company. " Members " were said entitled to welfare benefits like funds for medical and funeral expenses. Certificates were issued and many received moneys for treatment and for funerals expenses after joining as members. It looks genuine and participants were very happy. People from Sabah, Indonesia and Brunei also took trips to invest in the company.

This company provides members of the company to participate in the company's business and non company members are not allowed to participate in the investment business of the company. To convince public to join, the company put in its brochures photos of celebrities, business people and politicians who were said had participated in the company's business.

Many people fell into their trap because of promise of good returns in their investments.

It is difficult to know whether a company is a scam or not. Even educated and professional people fell into the trap of these companies.

To avoid loss and scams, the public are reminded that if in doubt about the legality or the operations of the company, it is wise to seek advice from commercial branch of the police department and Bank Negara. Sometimes police may also not sure whether they are scams or not unless there are complaints to the police by those who had been cheated

You may also wish to consult a lawyer who has experience in dealing with such cases.

Voon Lee Shan
President Parti Bumi Kenyalang