HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Family Money

Personal Directions

The Doctor's Consultation by Dr. Iain Corness

Agony Column

Camera Class by Snapshot

Family Money: Scams abound

By Leslie Wright,
Managing director of Westminster Portfolio Services (Thailand) Ltd.

Regular readers will recall one of my favourite adages: “Greed blinds prudence.” There are still plenty of potential investors out there who get sucked into schemes & scams because they imagine they’re smarter than the con-men and are going to get rich quick.

Most people are inexperienced and imprudent investors who tend to believe “salespeople” too easily. For more sophisticated investors, greed all too often tends to blind prudence, and even the Big Boys sometimes get stung. Most of us do not spend enough time and effort scrutinising proposed investments. We often fall for the “act now or you lose the opportunity of a lifetime” sales pitch.

That is why Thailand has long been a haven for local and international scam syndicates. Here are just a few of them:

“ Mae Chamoy Money Pyramid: In the 1980s and up until quite recently, some community leaders had set up investment schemes to lure community members into investing millions in them. They promised to pay high returns to their “members” at no risk. These returns were actually generated from the principal of members who joined later - a classic Ponzi scheme which uses new money to pay off old ‘profits’.

The scam expanded until it finally collapsed when the manager mismanaged the cashflow and some members started to withdraw their money.

* The Forex Scam: In the tradition of Mr Ponzi, various dealers in foreign exchange (‘forex’) set themselves up to lure investors with promises of huge returns for comparatively small amounts of capital. This used to be a minimum of 1 million baht, but a couple of years ago one Bangkok-based firm upped the minimum to US$100,000.

People rarely stop to ask why, if he’s so successful, he still needs new customers and is interested in what should be a relative pittance in comparison with the millions he’s making - at least on paper. Despite stories of these scams having circulated for years, I know of several expatriates who have “invested” in such schemes, and who have had great difficulty getting their money out when they wanted - although some have eventually succeeded (assumedly when new investors have re-seeded the pot, since that is the way this scheme works: no trades actually take place, so no criminal activity can actually be proven against the fraudsters. Clever aren’t they?)

* The Nigerian Advance Fee Scam: Many local businesspeople have received faxes or e-mails from people purporting to be officers of a state agency in Nigeria. Typically, the writer will say he urgently needs to transfer to a foreign account US$40 million that he had secured from over-billing on state contracts, and is requesting your help with an account number to park the funds. As a return of gratitude, he is willing to share a large percentage of the sum with you. (How he picked you of all people is usually glossed over, or mention is made of a “referee” - whom you may never have heard of - who purportedly gave him your name as being “a kind, honest and upright citizen.”)

The catch is that, to receive such a transfer, the contacted person must send up-front transfer/transaction fees of US$3,000~5,000 to his account in Lagos first. Needless to say, after such initial transfers, the local victims never hear from this Nigerian official again.

* The Prime Bank Guarantee Fraud: Many local financial institutions have been contacted by foreign businessmen, who claimed to possess financial papers issued by leading international banks - the so-called “prime banks”. These were typically in the form of bank guarantees, irrevocable letters of credit or similar notes typed on the banks’ stationery.

The fraudsters either wanted to sell the papers at a hefty discount from the face value or use them as a collateral for loans from financial institutions.

There have been no public reports of any local financial institution losing money over this scam, but it has cost investors around the world more than US$1 billion, according to the International Chamber of Commerce.

* The Gemstone Swindle: Thailand is internationally recognised for mining and cutting gemstones, especially sapphires and rubies.

Most people cannot tell the difference between a ruby and a garnet, which is worth considerably less carat for carat. (Even the huge Black Prince Ruby in the British Imperial State Crown is actually a garnet, not a ruby.) Similarly, most people have little idea what a particular gemstone - even if a genuine one - is really worth, since price varies so much depending on the four ‘Cs’: carat, clarity, colour, cut.

Rubies vary from pale pink to dark red, while sapphires typically range from cornflower blue to almost black. There are also white sapphires that look like - and are sometimes mistaken for - diamonds. (In fact, a good quality blue sapphire will be more valuable than a diamond of equal size.) The much sought-after ‘star’ sapphires are typically dark grey.

Tourists are especially easy targets for some of the touts who delight in taking busloads of tourists to their favourite gemstone dealer - who may very well be operating from a legitimate shop - where they may be enticed into buying “investment grade” stones, mounted or un-mounted, at what in many cases later turns out to be vastly inflated prices. The tout may well receive up to 30% of the sales price, and the tourist has no recourse for having been ripped off. I must in fairness mention that by no means all jewellery stores are rip-off artists; many will give you excellent value for money, provided you’re careful with your purchases and believe the price you’ve paid is fair. You may end up with a beautiful piece of jewellery for a reasonable price. But it is worth noting that neither the Thai government nor the Tourist Authority of Thailand (‘TAT’) runs supports or sponsors any gemstone dealer. It is in all cases entirely a matter of caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware.

What you need to do to protect yourself against these possible swindles is to be prudent in your investment decisions. Do ask a lot of questions and never hand over a single baht unless you are satisfied with the answers.

At the end of the day, use your common sense and the basic rule of investment - there is nothing free in this world. If you want higher returns, you should be willing to assume higher risks.

Personal Directions: Suffer or Celebrate the Consequences

By Christina Dodd,
founder and managing director of Asia Training Associates

I wonder if we ever really fully understand that we are totally accountable for everything we do in life. Our actions that come from our thinking ultimately create results. This is very true and it is good to take action and to have results, but we have to take heed of the fact that the results also bring with them - hand in hand and whether we like it or not - consequences.

In the real world, which is where we all have to live, we have to learn to understand that our actions need to be thought through and not just taken lightly, or in a desperate attempt to satisfy either others or ourselves. Our actions can determine the happiness of another person, the success or failure of a business, and this is just for starters. The consequences of our actions are infinite.

This topic is one that comes up time and time again and hits people in the face like a load of bricks when they seriously think upon it. Not only from the point of view as to what you - the doer - creates but also what you - the person at the other end - receive. Each and every one of us is a giver and a receiver of consequences. There is no way that we can escape this fact and part of life. This is why it is so important that we realize the full impact of our actions.

I brought this subject to the forefront in a recent program I held on problem solving and decision making for a group of young executives. They were all so very eager to assess problems and work out plans of action and to initiate action. But they had to stop and think carefully about the action before taking it! Problems don’t just sit there having arrived out of nowhere. They originate from actions of people (as was the case in this particular industry) and therefore all have an owner or an originator. And what the owner does to solve that problem will have consequences. In taking action - any sort of action - we have to be prepared to suffer or celebrate the consequences.

It isn’t pleasant being on the receiving end of someone’s actions especially when they are of a negative nature. In being the receiver of a problem we can know that an action can affect us this way. Suddenly we have something we really don’t want and it wasn’t our fault in the first place, but now we have to deal with it. We have something in our possession that is the result or consequence of someone else’s actions and we ask ourselves, is that fair?

And if we are not careful, we can do to others just as easily what has been done to us. We can make others feel just as we do when they receive the consequences of our actions. Whether we are looking at this from a personal or professional point of view, each of us is accountable for our actions and the consequences of them. And consequences don’t necessarily stop at one level, they can be far reaching and have multiple levels with a final and extreme impact.

Take a look at your life and try to pinpoint an event in which you acted and really didn’t think too much about what would happen as a result. I’m not saying that we should always make the right decisions because that would be impossible to do. What I am saying is that we should pay more attention to the decision and what can happen as a consequence of our actions. I’m sure that you can find numerous examples of things you have done where you wish you had thought things through just a little more or perhaps a lot more, before acting!

It’s a fact that you can make someone’s day by your actions. A simple but true scenario: I was recently in DTAC attending to some matters and the service I received was outstanding, so much so that I commended the customer service staff and gave my comments to the supervisor on duty at the time. I found out later that the young attendant who took care of my case was awarded for her excellent performance not just as a result of my actions, but my actions contributed in part to her success. It’s a good feeling to know that you can act in a way to bring about positive consequences and make something good happen for someone you don’t even know. This way we can “celebrate the consequences.”

Then there are those many times in our lives where we have done the opposite and have had to “suffer the consequences.” In those moments we so easily look back and ask ourselves why we did this or did that. What made us take that course of action? Why didn’t we think it through more carefully? Why did we act in anger? The questions as to why we did or did not do something are endless.

Because we are all accountable at the end of the day for the way we act and the consequences of our actions, you would think that this should make us stop and think more deeply about the actions we are going to take before we take them. However, we don’t stop to think about the consequences. We think more about the action. And is some ways we haven’t really grown up, we are still like children exploring life.

I remember one incident as I was growing up with my younger brother. We were all very little at the time and my brother was fascinated with the electric frying pan my mother used to use. He couldn’t see any flame like he could see when mum used the gas stove so his level of intrigue was running high as to how this pan could be hot without a flame underneath it. So he would move in close and watch the cooking. One day he moved in just a little too close and too quick and kind of “sniffed” the pan with his nose. Well - he let out a screech and went running away with a rather red nose but fully understanding where the flame is in an electric frying pan.

Sometimes we learn the hard way about the consequences of our actions - and it can hurt us.

If you would like to send me your thoughts on this subject or to contact me about personal life direction or indeed our professional training and executive coaching programs, please email me at Christina.dodd@ asiatrainingassociates.com . Until next time, have a wonderful week!

The Doctor's Consultation: Can Cattle Class kill you?

by Dr. Iain Corness

I was sent a press release entitled “Study identifies short haul DVT danger”. DVT stands for Deep Vein Thrombosis, and these are the clots that can form in the deep veins of the legs during cramped travel, such as you get in some economy (cattle) class flights.

It was an exercise on how to present scientific findings, with a slant towards how you want the data evaluated. Quoting the press release, “Air travellers on journeys as short as three hours are at risk of deep vein thrombosis, latest research has shown. Interim results of a new international study which has already examined more than 500 of a planned 900 passengers flying between UK and Italy between May and September 2003 found blood clots in 4.3% of high-risk subjects after their flight. Two passengers participating in the study went on to develop pulmonary embolisms possibly related to flights.”

The research was carried out by “experts” who seem to be heavyweights in the field too, led by Professor Gianni Belcaro of G D’Annunzio University in Italy.

When you read something like that, it seems like an open and shut case. Economy class gives you blood clots and you can even get clots in the lungs, which could kill you.

However, it is necessary to look a little more critically at the findings, rather than the superficial presentation. The press release did make mention of the scientific study, (which is not yet completed, by the way), and I went to the web site and took a look.

What the researchers did was to do ultrasound examinations on the passengers, before and after their flight. 568 had been fully evaluated, of which 179 were at medium or moderate risk for DVT and 211 could be considered at high risk. The incidence of DVT was 1.6 percent in medium risk (3 cases out of 179 subjects). There were 9 DVTs out of 210 (one went missing? - it was 211 before) in the high risk subjects (4.26 percent). In this group they also recorded two episodes of pulmonary embolism, admitting that the original DVT was possibly related to the flights or aggravated by the flights.

So looking at this study with a critical eye, we have no data given for low risk passengers, presumably no clots, and results that showed that 1.6 percent of moderate risk passengers had ultrasound evidence of DVT (but in other words, 98.4 percent stepped onto the tarmac at the other end, having no clots) and 4.26 percent of high risk passengers had ultrasound evidence of DVT (or 95.74 percent had none).

What has to be also understood here is that the diagnosis of DVT was done by ultrasound. The diagnosis was not done on clinical grounds - in other words, the patients did not know they had “clots”.

Professor Gianni did state that taking plenty of exercise during the trip, drinking water and wearing flight socks to help the blood circulate would reduce the likelihood of clots developing. He did not mention that half an aspirin daily was also a very good way to avoid the problem - but you are being told here by me!

It is also significant that medical studies are usually sent for evaluation by one’s peers before publication, and I am always suspicious of groups that bypass this safeguard for good scientific data. The information that the study was carried out by “a group of researchers with institutional grants and external support from several commercial sponsors” may explain it.

Agony Column

Camera Class: More videography tips

by Harry Flashman

Last week, I began with the following - I do not claim to be an expert in shooting video, but there are certain aspects that are true for all types of photography.

Let us begin with one very important fact. Still photography freezes a moment in time, while video photography tells a moving picture story. Try not to shoot ‘stills’ with a video camera and your videos will start to look professional immediately.

Video work however, is much like still camera work - the results you get will depend upon your knowledge of technique, and your ability to work out “how” to produce the images you want.

Here are a few more “rules” which can help you produce better video. Firstly, no rule is absolute, but you should have a good reason to break it. Having said that, let’s look at a few basics.

Just like still photography, make the subject the ‘hero’. Fill the entire screen with your important subject matter. Look at the TV soaps if you want to see how to fill up the TV screen. Empty space is wasted space.

Your video camera is recording ‘real’ life, and in real life, walls are vertical, doors are upright and horizons are horizontal. Avoid the ‘arty’ effect of strange angles. One way to do this is to use a tripod. While tripods are very effective pieces of equipment for still photography, I think they should almost be mandatory for the amateur videographer.

Another area that is often neglected in the excitement of the shoot is the background. If it is disturbing for you while you are shooting, it will be worse for the people who will watch your video later. Movements and bright lights, cars going past, people walking through the scene, stopping, gawking - they are all distractions and detractions. It is better to stop filming and move somewhere without the confusion behind your principal subjects. You can solve most background problems by moving the subject, the camera or changing the angle of view. Always check the distracting background details. You can’t get rid of them after the shot has been recorded.

Since the majority of your videos will include people, there are a few recommendations here too. When shooting people, place the subject’s eyes one-third down from the top of the frame no matter the type of shot. It is that old rule of thirds again. Dead central is boring!

Another shot to avoid is one with large distances between people. Again, look at the soaps on TV. The people are really standing much closer than they would in real life (in each other’s personal space in fact), but if you have them a metre or so apart, you lose ‘contact’ in the video.

You should also shoot people in full or three-quarter profile to let the viewers see both eyes. The one eyed effect does not look good. Again, look at TV. When two people are talking, the camera shoots over the shoulder of person one to shoot the second person face-on to the camera. When the first person replies, the shot is taken the other way, over the shoulder of the second person. You can also take shots of the person who is listening to the other speak. These are sometimes called ‘noddies’, because the person will be nodding while listening to the other speaker.

Video is in colour and you should always remember the impact that colour has on any shot. The most important thing is that your viewer’s attention is drawn to the most colourful areas of the scene. To avoid visual distractions, you must be on the lookout for colourful objects which may divert the attention of your audience. Either have the brightest colours or lights in the shot area that is the focus of attention, or get them right away altogether. The same rule goes for light and dark areas on the screen. If you place a dark subject next to a bright object, your viewers will look at the brighter area even though the dark subject is the main center of interest.