Central Bank Governor Warns Barbadians Against Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

Central Bank Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge is urging Barbadians to avoid get-rich-quick schemes, warning that “a lot of people are looking to take the change out of your pocket”.

Last month the Central Bank informed the public that a fraudulent letter purporting to be from the bank, requesting payment of fees, was circulating.

The monetary authority said the correspondence was not authorised by the bank or its governor, and had a forged signature.

Speaking during his third quarter press conference yesterday, Greenidge said the institution and other agencies became aware of and had investigated a scheme, which had elements of Ponzi or pyramid-type offerings.

His advice to Barbadians is that “if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck”.

Greenidge said there were three things which Barbadians should look out for with these schemes to ensure they were not duped into making investments in them.

He said that “if somebody asks you to put money up” to get a job, that was a red flag.

“If anyone requires you to refer and bring in people, usually that is associated with pyramid and Ponzi schemes. The person you bring is to pay for the next person. It ends when nobody isn’t coming in. That’s usually a red flag,” he said.

“Number three, anything that promises you an excessively high return for doing very little of anything is usually a Ponzi scheme. Anything that promises to pay you above the market is usually high, high risk and more invariably, it’s not really real.”

Greenidge urged: “Avoid them. Usually, the persons that are purporting to give you get rich schemes are actually using you to get rich. You are not getting rich, I could guarantee you that.” (SC)