<< Peninsula New 01 October 2007 - Chamber hears of dodgy companies >>

Chamber hears of dodgy companies

The Pearl Beach-Patonga Chamber of Commerce held a meeting recently to view a presentation on "Sharks, scams, rip offs and dodgy companies".

The guest speaker on the day was Mr Michael Cybulski, chief executive of the DMS Group Pty Ltd, a company which supplies corporate information and investigative reports to assist people make informed investment decisions.

In the presentation, Mr Cybulski pointed out that Australians pay out tens of millions of dollars each year to rip-off merchants and dodgy companies both in Australia and overseas.

He cited 17 instances where individuals and companies had been fraudulently enticed to part with large sums of money, most of it irrecoverable.

"Even the most sensible, intelligent and business-savvy people get caught out by scams," Mr Cybulski said.

Mr Cybulski gave a number of suggested guidelines.

"Do your research before availing your funds to any person or company," Mr Cybulski said.

"A huge amount of information on both Australian and overseas companies and individuals can be obtained from Austrade and companies like the DMS Group.

"You can check out an Australian business for as little as $18 and an overseas entity $200.

"If you have no experience in the business or the proposition is well-removed from your area of expertise, talk to someone who is an expert in that particular area.

"Take out credit insurance if you are involved in credit sales over $2 million."

Mr Cybulski said businesses should not judge the legitimacy of a company or person by the slickness of a website or the impressiveness of a CV.

"Good websites are not that expensive any more, and 65 per cent of all CVs have at least one material fabrication in them," Mr Cybulski said.

"If someone wants you to invest all your money with them, don't.

"If you receive an unsolicited business or investment prospect, be very wary of it.

"Don't presume an overseas business proposition or share investment to be safe or legitimate just because a company or stockbroker referred to in the proposal is registered.

"That company or stockbroker may have no knowledge of or connection with it whatsoever.

"Don't simply take the word of a mate as being evidence of an investment's viability.

"The long-term average annual rate of return on most investments seldom exceeds eight per cent.

"Anything purporting to bring in more than that needs to be researched thoroughly."

Mr Cybulski said that if something looks or sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

"Don't assume people or companies will conduct themselves ethically just because they promote themselves as being of high moral standing," Mr Cybulski said.

"The integrity of a person or company will become evident as business is conducted, and does not need to be advertised up front."

Mr Cybulski recommended that those unlucky enough to fall victim to an investment scam should commence debt recovery services by either a solicitor or debt collector.

Chamber media liaison officer Ms Rosemary Ruthven said the topic for the next Chamber meeting would be about the commercial and residential real estate market, presented by Chamber president Ms Karen Wakefield.

The meeting will be held Saturday, October 20, at 4pm at the Pearl Beach Café.

The cost is $10 for members and $15 for non-members.

"Anyone interested in joining the Pearl Beach-Patonga Chamber of Commerce can log on to the Pearl Beach website, www.pearl-beach.com, and download an enrolment form," Ms Ruthven said.

Press release, 18 Sep 2007 Rosemary Ruthven, Pearl Beach-Patonga Chamber of Commerce