Got a call the other day. As usual the person in the other end sounds really weird as if they are scrambling the voice. I didn't point this out to the person this time. She presented herself as "Sofia Scala" (possibly "Sophia" or "Skala"). She started by referring to a previous phone call to me where I had agreed to talk to an senior analyst. I couldn't remember accepting this, which seemed to surprise her a little. She asked if I was an investor or if I had made any investments before. I said no. She also commented on that I didn't seem to excited on the phone. That made me feel bad, maybe bad enough to invest in something.
I kept responding to her questions and let her do the talking. I threw in a "aaaah" or a "woow" once in a while, while trying not to sound sarcastic. It sounded like she had intended to discuss a certain prospect for me, but now she was pulling it of the table. She said: "I'm not saying that the prospect I have right now is for you - I don't know you". It made me feel like she was taking away a big opportunity from me - against my will. What is it called, "Reversed psychology?"
She asked me to keep an open mind, and repeated multiple times that she "just wanted to make sure we were on the same page". She said there was a investment limit on her prospect, and that I would have to invest between 0 and 50,000 USD. She added: You don't have to invest anything, you can walk away from this (which is why she said "0"). So she wondered: Is this something you would be able to do? Make an investment between 0 and 50,000 USD? I answered: I can invest $1. She appreciated my sense of humor. It was a pretty dumb question, I thought.
She asked if I was into technology. I said I was "interested" and had to make it clear that I was not an expert in the field (nor a professional). She made it clear that she didn't know the technical bits of this, and that she was going to tell me about this company. It was "AU Optronics", supposedly they have a 25% market share of flat screens around the world. And now they needed my money.
While I believe "AU Optronics" might be a real company, I don't believe these investments are real. I think "AU Optronics" know nothing about this and would not approve. And why would they try to get investors this way? Sending money outside your country to someone you've never heard about is pretty stupid in my opinion. She even mentioned that they were on the NY stock exchange. Why don't I just buy stocks there myself?
I don't have much proof of why this is a scam, except all the signs that I've seen before. Obviously I can't find this Sofia Scala anywhere. I'm also wondering if they are using random names for each person they're calling. This way it will be harder for people to find any blog posts about them being scammers.
I kept responding to her questions and let her do the talking. I threw in a "aaaah" or a "woow" once in a while, while trying not to sound sarcastic. It sounded like she had intended to discuss a certain prospect for me, but now she was pulling it of the table. She said: "I'm not saying that the prospect I have right now is for you - I don't know you". It made me feel like she was taking away a big opportunity from me - against my will. What is it called, "Reversed psychology?"
She asked me to keep an open mind, and repeated multiple times that she "just wanted to make sure we were on the same page". She said there was a investment limit on her prospect, and that I would have to invest between 0 and 50,000 USD. She added: You don't have to invest anything, you can walk away from this (which is why she said "0"). So she wondered: Is this something you would be able to do? Make an investment between 0 and 50,000 USD? I answered: I can invest $1. She appreciated my sense of humor. It was a pretty dumb question, I thought.
She asked if I was into technology. I said I was "interested" and had to make it clear that I was not an expert in the field (nor a professional). She made it clear that she didn't know the technical bits of this, and that she was going to tell me about this company. It was "AU Optronics", supposedly they have a 25% market share of flat screens around the world. And now they needed my money.
While I believe "AU Optronics" might be a real company, I don't believe these investments are real. I think "AU Optronics" know nothing about this and would not approve. And why would they try to get investors this way? Sending money outside your country to someone you've never heard about is pretty stupid in my opinion. She even mentioned that they were on the NY stock exchange. Why don't I just buy stocks there myself?
I don't have much proof of why this is a scam, except all the signs that I've seen before. Obviously I can't find this Sofia Scala anywhere. I'm also wondering if they are using random names for each person they're calling. This way it will be harder for people to find any blog posts about them being scammers.
