Granted, the statement that it was “a group of mostly Filipino nurses in Temecula” was neutral enough, and served for purposes of identifying the particular players in question.
However, the way in which “Pinoy”, “Pinay”, and “jeepney” were used seemed a bit harsh and condescending to me. Not that the words themselves are condescending, but it was the tone of voice… even an innocuous word like “Boy” can be grossly insulting in certain contexts.
I heartily agree with others who state that if the return is greater than normal, so must be the risk, despite what anyone tells you. Unfortunately, greed is a powerful impulse, especially when you are feeling “on the financial edge”– I’ve felt its twinges myself.
And sure, we are told ad infinitum from a plethora of sources that identity theft is out there and how to recognize someone attempting it.
But Conned By Crooks raises a good (and scary) point with his/her story: what if the outfit in question looks like a full-on, respectable bank or investment firm? We all give our personal information to banks– it’s part of doing business with them.
For this reason, and also for memories of the Savings and Loan Crisis etc, I don’t do business with any banking entity I haven’t been hearing about for years and years. There are some banks that have appeared in the buildings in downtown Rancho Bernardo that I’ve never heard of before. Fly by night? Maybe not but I wouldn’t be surprised.
And the sad part is, even the been-known-for-years names will con you too. I see stories about that in the financial news occasionally.
The very best present any bank ever gave me was, my employer’s credit union gave me a pamphlet containing a chart of the payment size per month for a full range of interest rates and loan periods. It covers everything from 2% interest for a year up to 22% interest for 40 years.
Thanks to this chart I know what a “sane” monthly payment looks like for a fixed 30-year mortgage (it is roughly $600/month for every $100,000 of loan, give or take $50 depending on interest rates). So of course I knew I couldn’t really afford these houses and didn’t even go out there where the wolves were fleecing the suckers. JBR for the past 10 years? You betcha! But I’m not getting foreclosed upon either, thank goodness.
