Guest views are now limited to 12 pages. If you get an "Error" message, just sign in! If you need to create an account, click here.

Jump to content
  • CRYPTO REWARDS!

    Full endorsement on this opportunity - but it's limited, so get in while you can!

You Can't Fix Stupid: The Iraqi Dinar Scam Lives


Recommended Posts

You Can't Fix Stupid: The Iraqi Dinar Scam Lives

+ Comment now

In the words of popular comedian Ron White, “You can’t fix stupid.” That phrase, as elegant in its simplicity as it is frankly true, applies with special fervor to those who continue to believe that they are about to make millions, billions, or even trillions by investing in Iraqi dinars.

Yes, I know this has been written about before. Fellow Forbes’ contributor John Wasik wrote about this scam last January at http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwasik/2012/01/19/the-curse-of-saddam-iraqi-dinar-deals/ And even various law enforcement agencies are publicly warning about this scam, such as that of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions at http://www.dfi.wa.gov/consumers/alerts/iraqi-dinar-scams.htm

Yet this scam continues to persist, and hardly a week goes by that some sucker or another doesn’t call my office to inquire about asset protection planning for the untold riches that he or she is about to receive when the Dinar finally re-valuates by 100 times or more.

Ten Rules For Asset Protection Planning

Jay Adkisson

Contributor

Investors Who 'Buy' Pensions Are Buying Trouble

John Wasik

Contributor

Summer Swelter Heats Up Scam Season: Five Red Flags

John Wasik

Contributor

Of course, they can’t pay my legal fees now for such planning because every last cent is invested in the Dinars. But they can pay me when they finally reap their great reward.

Which is never.

Scams involving the arbitrage of foreign currencies have been around as long as there have been, well, foreign currencies. In the modern age, many pyramid schemes have been disguised as sophisticated “FOREX trading programs” — but in fact, the scammers weren’t doing any trading at all, but simply paying old investors with the money from new investors. Charles Ponzi, the modern Father of such schemes, would be proud.

In fact, FOREX scams became so widespread in the 1990s — playing on the speculation regarding the then-new Euro — that the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission was compelled to put out a great deal of warnings about these scams. This collection is now found at http://www.cftc.gov/ConsumerProtection/FraudAwarenessPrevention/CFTCFraudAdvisories/fraudadv_forex and applies with equal weight to the Dinar scam.

There exists an entire army of FOREX scammers who spend their entire days looking for suckers, which unfortunately include the most vulnerable in our society such as the elderly. For those folks in or nearing retirement whose ordinary investments didn’t quite get them where they needed to be, these scam artists are ready, willing and able to divest them of their remaining wealth with promises of high “risk free” returns trading in FOREX. But that money is just disappearing to banks in Belize or elsewhere.

The FOREX scams didn’t involve any actual purchases of foreign currency, but simply scam artists running utterly bogus “statements” off their printers that showed huge returns, right up until the time that the scammers disappeared. Some of the Dinar scams operate the same way: You don’t actually get any Dinars, but instead just a statement showing that you have Dinars or some sort of phony-baloney “Certificate” of ownership.

But — and this is why the Dinar scam has been largely successful — with the Dinar scam you can actually get the cold hard Dinars if you want them. Yep, suckers around America have their closets and garages full of bales of Dinars, just waiting for that glorious day when they will re-valuate.

Which is never.

To help sell the scam, the scam artists have set up all sorts of websites and bulletin boards and newsletter and social media and you-name-it to try to create the impression that the Dinars are valuable and are about to re-valuate at any moment. I’ve had people tell me that their Dinars are going to re-valuate “within the week” or “by the end of the month”, and they’ve been telling me for years.

All of this reminds me of the “Magic Bean Scheme” which was a pyramid scheme run in my native Oklahoma by some creative scammers. The idea was that you could buy from the scammers a certain type of expensive bean that when left in a jar of water for a couple of weeks would produce valuable “bean juice” that could then be re-sold for a large profit. The key was, according to the scammers, you had to shake the jars every few hours to get the desired result.

Of course, the scammers threw some of their own money in to get the scam started. The first few people made some good money selling their bean juice, and of course they told their friends and family about this new sure-fire way to make a fortune. Soon enough many folks in Oklahoma were brewing “bean juice” in their garages, going out every couple of hours to shake the jars so that the bean juice would form faster. “Honey, it’s 4:00 a.m., and you turn to shake the jars.”

Then, one day after selling enough of the expensive beans, the scammers vamoosed and there were a lot of folks in Oklahoma with closets and garages full of jars of worthless beans and juice in them — turned out the beans were just ordinary navy beans. My guess is that there are still people out there who have never given up on the beans, still turning them, and still expecting that bean juice to result in untold riches.

Ditto for the Dinars, the bales of which some suckers having in their closets and garages, taking up space and waiting for the day when they finally re-valuate.

Which is never.

Unfortunately, a bad thing about human nature is that once folks believe in a story, they refuse to believe they have been scammed. Often they are embarrassed, and figure that to admit they were wrong is worse than simply keeping their useless whatevers in the closet or out in the garage. But others are really, truly convinced that their initial investment was a good one, and no amount of proof or logic can dissuade them.

Even after Charles Ponzi died, some of his followers bought OUIJA boards and tried to channel his dead soul to find out when their utterly worthless investments would become valuable as he promised. Time and time again, I’ve watched as the victims of pyramid schemes continue to believe that they are about to get rich even as the perpetrators went to jail.

For me, after telling these folks they’ve been scammed and hearing their denials, I’ve been betting these folks who call me up to $5,000 in free legal work if the Dinar re-valuates in 30 days, against a gift certificate from a steakhouse. Suffice it to say that I’m going to be in good beef for some time. Which brings me back to Ron White, who is absolutely right: “You can’t fix stupid.“

And that goes for the Dinars, and the idea that they will soon re-valuate, thus leading current investors to great riches.

Which is never.

So, why is this a scam? It is a scam because the Dinar has no chance or significant appreciation, i.e., appreciation that would make buying Dinars worthwhile. First, there is the political uncertainty — who would invest in the currency of a government that is still fighting a significant insurgency and might not be around the next year, any year? Second, and much more importantly, there are so many Dinars floating around that even if Iraq discovered the world’s largest gold mine tomorrow, the value of the Dinar would not significantly appreciate.

The scam artists say, “But look at Kuwait!” After the first Gulf War, the Kuwaiti Dinar did show significant appreciation. But that is an Apples and Orangutans comparison.

First, Kuwait is significantly richer than Iraq with significantly larger oil reserves — it is forgotten that the Iraq invaded Kuwait to get the latter’s oil reserves, not because Iraq had enough of its own.

Second, the Kuwaiti population is much smaller — 3 million compared to the 33 million living in Iraq. This means that Iraq has to take care of ten times as many people as Kuwait, as well as attempt to rebuild an infrastructure racked by a decade of civil war, with less money than Kuwait.

Third, and even more telling, the Iraq government even now has to borrow about $100 million per year to provide basic services. No country which is borrowing money is going to have an “imminent revaluation” (the term often used by the scam artists to sell Dinars) anytime soon!

Fourth, Kuwait had a stable government before the War that simply fled Kuwait until order was restored, and then returned to be a stable government. By contrast, Iraq’s government is new and whether it survives is anybody’s guess.

The point is that there is absolutely no reason to believe that the Iraqi Dinar will significantly appreciate in the long term, and it utterly insane to believe that the Iraqi Dinar will significantly appreciate in the short term, i.e., within 10 years.

And there is the scam: The scam artists sell Iraqi Dinars to suckers based on the false story that the Iraqi Dinars are about to become very valuable, when they are not. You might as well buy bags of sand, because they are going to appreciate more quickly than the Iraqi Dinar. Or just go down to the bank and buy rolls of pennies and hide them in the attic. Someday the U.S. government will get rid of pennies, and then the pennies will become rare and valuable — in about two hundred years. That is about how quickly the Iraqi Dinar is going to appreciate too. http://www.forbes.com/sites/jayadkisson/2012/07/30/you-cant-fix-stupid-the-iraqi-dinar-scam-lives/

  • Upvote 12
  • Downvote 12
Link to comment
Share on other sites

WELL!! Somebody had his panties in a big wad this morning, didn't he? Enough that he had to keep writing for . . . what? . . . three? four pages? I suppose he could be right, but I'll put my money on what Adam says every time, and he says the RV is getting pretty close to a "GO." And when it happens, I'm there. (Thank God!!!). But after reading the above comments, I am convinced more than ever that this writer is absolutely right about one thing: You can't fix stupid!!

  • Upvote 4
  • Downvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Boy, this stuff sure seems to be more important than anything else, as it continues to pop up...Someone must really want to buy back dinars...well, I've said it many times, so here we go again:

Why have some had up to, and over 3x the gains, from holding Dinars long-term, while everything for the most part in the U.S. has TANKED?...When they can answer this one we may listen to them and heed their warning, but the PROOF is in the pudding!...On another note, the Dinar's final bell has'nt been rung as per the FINALITY of this thing, so why warn some of us, because we have already made better gains from this than most of the stuff that the media and so-called expert financial guru's of the estlabishment played up, as always being good, rock-solid, bullet-proof, etc., etc., etc...while most of it TANKED!..I think that many of us will keep taking the OPPOSITE advice!...LOL...

P.S. IF IT TANKS AS PER THE DINAR, THEN SO BE IT, AS WILL PROBABLY EVERYTHING ELSE...AS AT LEAST WE ARE BETTING ON THE WINNING HORSE...(AS AT LEAST WE KNOW IRAQ HAS OIL, GOLD, ETC..."B A C K I N G")..WHAT HAS THE U.S. GOT?..WHO IS WARNING US ABOUT IT?...WHY ARE THEY NOT DOING SO?..WHY WORRY OVER SOMETHING THAT HAS'NT MATERIALIZED YET, BUT HAS HAD A GOOD LONG TERM PATTERN SO FAR?...THIS IS SIMPLY RETARDED..OR AT LEAST UNTIL IT IS OVER!!!

  • Upvote 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You Can't Fix Stupid: The Iraqi Dinar Scam Lives

+ Comment now

In the words of popular comedian Ron White, “You can’t fix stupid.” That phrase, as elegant in its simplicity as it is frankly true, applies with special fervor to those who continue to believe that they are about to make millions, billions, or even trillions by investing in Iraqi dinars.

Yes, I know this has been written about before. Fellow Forbes’ contributor John Wasik wrote about this scam last January at http://www.forbes.co...qi-dinar-deals/ And even various law enforcement agencies are publicly warning about this scam, such as that of the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions at http://www.dfi.wa.go...dinar-scams.htm

Yet this scam continues to persist, and hardly a week goes by that some sucker or another doesn’t call my office to inquire about asset protection planning for the untold riches that he or she is about to receive when the Dinar finally re-valuates by 100 times or more.

Ten Rules For Asset Protection Planning

Jay Adkisson

Contributor

Investors Who 'Buy' Pensions Are Buying Trouble

John Wasik

Contributor

Summer Swelter Heats Up Scam Season: Five Red Flags

John Wasik

Contributor

Of course, they can’t pay my legal fees now for such planning because every last cent is invested in the Dinars. But they can pay me when they finally reap their great reward.

Which is never.

Scams involving the arbitrage of foreign currencies have been around as long as there have been, well, foreign currencies. In the modern age, many pyramid schemes have been disguised as sophisticated “FOREX trading programs” — but in fact, the scammers weren’t doing any trading at all, but simply paying old investors with the money from new investors. Charles Ponzi, the modern Father of such schemes, would be proud.

In fact, FOREX scams became so widespread in the 1990s — playing on the speculation regarding the then-new Euro — that the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission was compelled to put out a great deal of warnings about these scams. This collection is now found at http://www.cftc.gov/.../fraudadv_forex and applies with equal weight to the Dinar scam.

There exists an entire army of FOREX scammers who spend their entire days looking for suckers, which unfortunately include the most vulnerable in our society such as the elderly. For those folks in or nearing retirement whose ordinary investments didn’t quite get them where they needed to be, these scam artists are ready, willing and able to divest them of their remaining wealth with promises of high “risk free” returns trading in FOREX. But that money is just disappearing to banks in Belize or elsewhere.

The FOREX scams didn’t involve any actual purchases of foreign currency, but simply scam artists running utterly bogus “statements” off their printers that showed huge returns, right up until the time that the scammers disappeared. Some of the Dinar scams operate the same way: You don’t actually get any Dinars, but instead just a statement showing that you have Dinars or some sort of phony-baloney “Certificate” of ownership.

But — and this is why the Dinar scam has been largely successful — with the Dinar scam you can actually get the cold hard Dinars if you want them. Yep, suckers around America have their closets and garages full of bales of Dinars, just waiting for that glorious day when they will re-valuate.

Which is never.

To help sell the scam, the scam artists have set up all sorts of websites and bulletin boards and newsletter and social media and you-name-it to try to create the impression that the Dinars are valuable and are about to re-valuate at any moment. I’ve had people tell me that their Dinars are going to re-valuate “within the week” or “by the end of the month”, and they’ve been telling me for years.

All of this reminds me of the “Magic Bean Scheme” which was a pyramid scheme run in my native Oklahoma by some creative scammers. The idea was that you could buy from the scammers a certain type of expensive bean that when left in a jar of water for a couple of weeks would produce valuable “bean juice” that could then be re-sold for a large profit. The key was, according to the scammers, you had to shake the jars every few hours to get the desired result.

Of course, the scammers threw some of their own money in to get the scam started. The first few people made some good money selling their bean juice, and of course they told their friends and family about this new sure-fire way to make a fortune. Soon enough many folks in Oklahoma were brewing “bean juice” in their garages, going out every couple of hours to shake the jars so that the bean juice would form faster. “Honey, it’s 4:00 a.m., and you turn to shake the jars.”

Then, one day after selling enough of the expensive beans, the scammers vamoosed and there were a lot of folks in Oklahoma with closets and garages full of jars of worthless beans and juice in them — turned out the beans were just ordinary navy beans. My guess is that there are still people out there who have never given up on the beans, still turning them, and still expecting that bean juice to result in untold riches.

Ditto for the Dinars, the bales of which some suckers having in their closets and garages, taking up space and waiting for the day when they finally re-valuate.

Which is never.

Unfortunately, a bad thing about human nature is that once folks believe in a story, they refuse to believe they have been scammed. Often they are embarrassed, and figure that to admit they were wrong is worse than simply keeping their useless whatevers in the closet or out in the garage. But others are really, truly convinced that their initial investment was a good one, and no amount of proof or logic can dissuade them.

Even after Charles Ponzi died, some of his followers bought OUIJA boards and tried to channel his dead soul to find out when their utterly worthless investments would become valuable as he promised. Time and time again, I’ve watched as the victims of pyramid schemes continue to believe that they are about to get rich even as the perpetrators went to jail.

For me, after telling these folks they’ve been scammed and hearing their denials, I’ve been betting these folks who call me up to $5,000 in free legal work if the Dinar re-valuates in 30 days, against a gift certificate from a steakhouse. Suffice it to say that I’m going to be in good beef for some time. Which brings me back to Ron White, who is absolutely right: “You can’t fix stupid.“

And that goes for the Dinars, and the idea that they will soon re-valuate, thus leading current investors to great riches.

Which is never.

So, why is this a scam? It is a scam because the Dinar has no chance or significant appreciation, i.e., appreciation that would make buying Dinars worthwhile. First, there is the political uncertainty — who would invest in the currency of a government that is still fighting a significant insurgency and might not be around the next year, any year? Second, and much more importantly, there are so many Dinars floating around that even if Iraq discovered the world’s largest gold mine tomorrow, the value of the Dinar would not significantly appreciate.

The scam artists say, “But look at Kuwait!” After the first Gulf War, the Kuwaiti Dinar did show significant appreciation. But that is an Apples and Orangutans comparison.

First, Kuwait is significantly richer than Iraq with significantly larger oil reserves — it is forgotten that the Iraq invaded Kuwait to get the latter’s oil reserves, not because Iraq had enough of its own.

Second, the Kuwaiti population is much smaller — 3 million compared to the 33 million living in Iraq. This means that Iraq has to take care of ten times as many people as Kuwait, as well as attempt to rebuild an infrastructure racked by a decade of civil war, with less money than Kuwait.

Third, and even more telling, the Iraq government even now has to borrow about $100 million per year to provide basic services. No country which is borrowing money is going to have an “imminent revaluation” (the term often used by the scam artists to sell Dinars) anytime soon!

Fourth, Kuwait had a stable government before the War that simply fled Kuwait until order was restored, and then returned to be a stable government. By contrast, Iraq’s government is new and whether it survives is anybody’s guess.

The point is that there is absolutely no reason to believe that the Iraqi Dinar will significantly appreciate in the long term, and it utterly insane to believe that the Iraqi Dinar will significantly appreciate in the short term, i.e., within 10 years.

And there is the scam: The scam artists sell Iraqi Dinars to suckers based on the false story that the Iraqi Dinars are about to become very valuable, when they are not. You might as well buy bags of sand, because they are going to appreciate more quickly than the Iraqi Dinar. Or just go down to the bank and buy rolls of pennies and hide them in the attic. Someday the U.S. government will get rid of pennies, and then the pennies will become rare and valuable — in about two hundred years. That is about how quickly the Iraqi Dinar is going to appreciate too. http://www.forbes.co...nar-scam-lives/

to make it a scam you have to guarantee getting rich, nobody ever guaranteed I would get rich, in reality alot of people on this site keep saying it won't go high. Also anybody who wants to can sell there dinar back to the dealer (for a little loss) in scams once you have the product then your stuck.

I am a big boy I made my decision and I will live by it. Yota691 thanks for bringing all aspects of this to us

DK

  • Upvote 6
  • Downvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let's put this in another perspective...If one had bought dinars years ago, like some civilians and even military that I know, whereby some got in as low as when the rate was even several thousand to 1....and then you look at it now, where it is appx. 1160-1170 +/-...I've yet to hear one cry or squeal from anyone holding this stuff long-term...YET!.....On another note, as one guy said, if he took, hypothetically, One thousand US Dollars and One thousand US Dollars worth of Iraqi Dinars...and had placed each of them under the mattress for the last several years...and pulled them both out today...which one would still be worth as much or more than what you paid?...Not The U.S. Dollar...as he quoted, even if it was physically in your hand, due to rising inflation, like food, fuel, etc... some things have increased in price 100%...so there goes possibly up to 20-30% of your US Dollars buying power.....Through inflation they don't have to take your physical currency, like many believe that the dinar will be taken one day, at a loss to us, or very minimal gains...But through inflation of the US Dollar...your money is being lost right now through your buying power...WAS THAT A SCAM?...WAS BEAR STEARNS, LEAHMAN BROTHERS, WORLDCOM, ENRON AND MANY, MANY OTHERS A SCAM?...WERE THEY CALLED A SCAM WHILE EVERYONE JUMPED INTO THEM HEAD OVER HEALS WHILE NO ONE HARDLY WARNED ANYONE!...what about the Dinar?...If it was cashed in right now, at the new rate, even at say 1160 to 1, and someone bought in at 1500 to 1, 2000 to 1, 3000 to 1, or even off the streets in Iraq, as we've heard, as low as, or lower than 4000 to 1...SO WHAT!....if that was 8 or 10 years ago...How long were some in the stock market and other investments that have went bad, and even those that ended up being good...hardly ever were these always overnight maturing bombshells for making money!...BOTTOM LINE: HOW MANY ROCKET SCIENTISTS, ECONOMISTS, GURU'S, B.S. EXPERTS, ETC., ETC..."DOES IT TAKE TO DO THE MATH HERE FOLKS AND SEE WHERE THE SKY LETS THE SUN SHINE IN"...FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH!!!

P.S....THE DINAR COULD DO ANYTHING IN THE FUTURE...AS IT COULD HAVE IN THE PAST...BUT, SO CAN THE US DOLLAR...IT ALREADY HAS BEEN SHOWING IT'S TRUE COLORS...THAT'S WHY SOME OWN DINARS...LITERALLY....BUT I KNOW FOLKS THAT OWN THESE THINGS...THAT HAVE HAD 40 YEARS OF EDUCATION INVOLVING MONEY AND/OR WORKING WITH IT...THAT HOLD SOME OF THESE...JUST IN CASE...DOES THAT TELL US THAT IT IS THE RISK TAKERS THAT HAVE ALWAYS DONE THE BEST OR NOT?

  • Upvote 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To go along with the other 7953 post that i made, because I want to!!

Here is another Idea you can try if you think this is a scam sell all your dinar & stop wasting your time on dinar sites, move on with your life to something more productive for yourself. Let those of us here who are willing to wait & see how this turns out , sit here in peace. if we loose out than that's on use not you. People have the right to spend money on investment they want to get into that's their right as a US citizen.

  • Upvote 5
  • Downvote 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To go along with the other 7953 post that i made, because I want to!!

It's hard enough to be in this investment without having to read this crap. You certainly have the right to post it but what is the point unless you feel this way as well.

  • Upvote 6
  • Downvote 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is another Idea you can try if you think this is a scam sell all your dinar & stop wasting your time on dinar sites, move on with your life to something more productive for yourself. Let those of us here who are willing to wait & see how this turns out , sit here in peace. if we loose out than that's on use not you. People have the right to spend money on investment they want to get into that's their right as a US citizen.

lol you talk like I wrote this article!! and to tell me to stop wasting time on a dinar site, and your here posting on DV a (dinar site) that funny!! :lol: This article was on my Google news web page that came from Forbes. I own dinar if you not notice I am IQD verified!! Other then that you seem to be in a bad mood, I'm a big boy and a US citizen, so please don't tell me how to run my Life!!

It's hard enough to be in this investment without having to read this crap. You certainly have the right to post it but what is the point unless you feel this way as well.

Its not the first neg article in this investment, and it not gonna be the last!! You got some members in here that discourage folks every day about this investment. I have Faith in this investment, just because i posted a article that discouraging to you don't take it out on me!!

Edited by yota691
  • Upvote 13
  • Downvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is another Idea you can try if you think this is a scam sell all your dinar & stop wasting your time on dinar sites, move on with your life to something more productive for yourself. Let those of us here who are willing to wait & see how this turns out , sit here in peace. if we loose out than that's on use not you. People have the right to spend money on investment they want to get into that's their right as a US citizen.

Intellectual honesty

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Intellectual honesty is an applied method of problem solving in academia, characterized by an unbiased, honest attitude, which can be demonstrated in a number of different ways, including but not limited to:

One's personal beliefs do not interfere with the pursuit of truth;

Relevant facts and information are not purposefully omitted even when such things may contradict one's hypothesis;

Facts are presented in an unbiased manner, and not twisted to give misleading impressions or to support one view over another;

References are acknowledged where possible, and plagiarism is avoided

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yota and I may not agree on certain issues, but gives a lot of his time to the DV family with the news articles he brings.

For that, he has my respect.

If you are so insecure with your decision to speculate in the Dinar, that is something you will have to face.

Intellectual Honesty, Integrity, Perspective.

Having the confidence in one's decisions to present an opposing view.

Maybe you should consider an apology to Yota, and you not spend so much time on Dinar sites until you are secure with your decisions.

  • Upvote 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

wow yota what are you so angry about today? emot-hug.gif

I'm in a Great Mood!! :D All you folks are Great as Well nothing going to get me down, for i have been to the bottom and with God Grace he brings me right back to the top!! :D

Edited by yota691
  • Upvote 3
  • Downvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

lol you talk like I wrote this article!! and to tell me to stop wasting time on a dinar site, and your here posting on DV a (dinar site) that funny!! :lol: This article was on my Google news web page that came from Forbes. I own dinar if you not notice I am IQD verified!! Other then that you seem to be in a bad mood, I'm a big boy and a US citizen, so please don't tell me how to run my Life!!

Its not the first neg article in this investment, and it not gonna be the last!! You got some members in here that discourage folks every day about this investment. I have Faith in this investment, just because i posted a article that discouraging to you don't take it out on me!!

Fair enough. I know you believe in this investment. Some days these negative articles get to me. It's bad enough having to listen to the lopsters. Peace

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.