The primary goal of most overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in going abroad is to provide a better life for their family. But most of them also want to go home for good and simply have business or various investments to still provide for their families even without their higher-paying job abroad.
Sadly, there are a lot of unscrupulously individuals who use this to prey on OFWs, enticing them with scams that are disguised as ‘guaranteed’ high-return investments.
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There have been hundreds of OFWs who fall into these scams, thinking that they could easily turn their savings into investments so they could go back home to be with their family for good. But many end up losing all their savings, instead.
If something sounds too good to be true and offers high ‘guaranteed’ profits at short periods of time, it is quite likely a scam.
Others fall for loan programs supposedly offered by OFW-centered government agencies like the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA). But many of these are also scams that simply use the names of legitimate government agencies to lure OFWs into believing they are for real.
Others even use the names of high-ranking government officials, including the one that used the name of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III.
“Basic financial literacy education is the key. Pinoys should invest on themselves first, attend seminars, read books, and go to workshops, among others,” suggested Argel Tiburcio, one of the Philippine-based financial planners interviewed by GMA News.
“Don’t invest in something they don’t understand. Watch out for the red flag of scams having high guaranteed returns with low risk.”
Philippine-based financial planners advise OFWs to stop investing in financial ventures that promise “high guaranteed returns” within just a short period of time. Instead, the OFWs should devote their time researching on these investments and learning better ways to handle their finances to avoid falling into these scams.
What is Financial Literacy?
Financial literacy is the set of skills and knowledge on how to deal with finances, not just to save money but to also find ways to make it grow by making informed, effective decisions.
