The United States has renewed diplomatic ties with Cuba. This development opens up many legitimate opportunities to invest in Cuba – but it also opens the door for scammers to entice retirees with promises of exotic investments carrying high returns.
Make sure you don’t harm your nest egg by falling victim to a Cuban investment scam, writes Robert Laura in Forbes:
Like many of you, I couldn’t help but salivate over all the investment possibilities that could be brought about by renewed diplomatic relations between the US and Cub. However, as I began to indulge in the prospects for automakers, internet providers, fast food chains, oil and gas companies, travel agencies, medical suppliers and more – it hit me. The biggest opportunities are not the legitimate ones which may take years to pay-off, but the illegal ones that will rob many retirees and seniors of their life savings right now.
While politicians debate the merits of this deal and re-examine the financial impact of the current embargo, the door is now wide open for scammers and hucksters looking to make a quick buck. That’s why it’s important to let every retiree and senior know that, at this point, they have absolutely no business investing in anything related to Cuba and should avoid it at all costs … no matter how legitimate the opportunity may sound or how lucrative the promise.
There’s just too much risk and time involved before they’re likely see significant returns on any of these newfound investment opportunities. First of all, the costs to bring Cuba’s are infrastructure up to the 20th century – let alone the 21st – will be staggering. So, share this message with your clients: seniors and retirees have no business investing in anything to do with Cuba and should avoid it at any cost!
Why, specifically, should Cuba be avoided? Laura explains his reasoning:
Reality is, Cuba is an extremely poor country. According to the United Nations its economy ranks 69th in the world with annual income, pegged at about $6,200 per person. That doesn’t leave a lot of money for a buying new car, computer, cell phone, or late-night Havana burger and fries. The World Bank adds that, when it comes to public infrastructure, including roads, factories and housing, Cuba has one of the lowest investment rates in the world.
[…]
The entire situation brings to mind the story of two shoe salespeople who were sent to an emerging country where no one wore shoes. The more senior salesperson arrived first and immediately called the home office. He said, “You might as well bring me home, no one here wears shoes.” Later that year, the company sent a second less-experienced salesperson to the same country. The home office soon received a call from the rep, who exclaimed, “Send me all the shoes you’ve got, no one here is wearing shoes!” The second seller simply looked at the situation in a different light and approached it with great excitement; yet that didn’t mean the demand would be there … that shoes could be sold there profitably … or that the rep might be jailed for failing to share revenue with the government. Right now, that’s the case in Cuba… lots of hype but no real substance.
Read Laura’s entire column here.
Photo by Alfredo Miguel Romero via Flickr CC License
