Niko kwa Chemist sasa, am happy to know that I have friends here.

One guy lost 5.5 million like seriously!!!

I am in this, round 2 .... i hope i will survive!

Kabisa. You should have seen how those who advised caution against VIPortal were called names.

You can't help some people. Now there's a dude on Biz101 on FB who's come up with a brilliant idea targeting 50,000 simpletons to raise 1,000/= monthly and form a Sacco. They aim to raise 0.5 billion in ten months, ati to buy Corner Hse. What shocks me is the enthusiasm that has greeted that latest congame. They've even set meeting dates and venues

Hard to spot. Shouldn’t we know better by now? The unfortunate fact of human nature is that knowing better isn’t easy. Ponzi operations are typically light-years more sophisticated than the Nigerian money-transfer scams caught by your e-mail spam filter. As fraud expert and SEC trial counsel Pat Huddleston is fond of saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, you’re dealing with an amateur.” Madoff and his ilk don’t promise the moon; the returns they offer, albeit fictitious, are plausible.

For certain investors, Ponzi come-ons are like catnip. Risk-takers—not just in investing but in areas such as sports and hobbies—are vulnerable, says Tamar Frankel, a Boston University law professor and author of The Ponzi Scheme Puzzle: A History and Analysis of Con Artists and Victims. Victims often exhibit addictive personality traits, with the fear of loss outweighed by satisfaction in gains—or anticipation thereof. “You see it at the roulette table, and you see it in victims of Ponzi schemes,” says Frankel. Our need to belong explains why Ponzi schemes are so successful among affinity groups, and our craving for social status explains why, when Ponzi perpetrators try to turn would-be investors away, they fight all the harder to get in on the “exclusive” opportunity. Sophistication is no defense: Educated investors are often too confident in their own capacity to evaluate a deal.

Primed for trouble. Simply the way our brain processes information can lead to problems in the investing arena. Most of us have a general bias toward optimism. “Nobody thinks anything bad is going to happen. Otherwise, you’d never leave home in a world full of crime, germs and teenage drivers,” says Huddleston. A congruence bias prevents us from seeking evidence that conflicts with our impressions and leads us to discount such evidence if it’s presented.

Read more at http://www.kiplinger.com...tml#LVooMP0fQqETsB1X.99

Samuel Njoroge, another investor, claims that VIP Portal had agreed to absorb any losses that would arise after trading using his cash. This was to give relief to investors who were afraid of losing their money, and was key in attracting more clients to try their hand in the business.

“Further terms were that in case any losses were made, it would be absorbed by VIP Portal and not passed on to the investors. Pursuant to this, the members deposited money with VIP Portal expecting payment of their initial investment sum plus interest,” Mr Njoroge says.

A couple accused of defrauding thousands of investors of millions of shillings has started repaying the money, a Kiambu court was told yesterday.

Alfred Wangai and Mercy Nkatha on Monday said that they have paid more than Sh900 million.

The couple owns an online forex trading company - VIP Portal - based in Limuru town, where thousands of people lost more than Sh1 billion after the couple promised to double the deposits.

Between October 2013 and September 2014, the couple engineered one of Kenya’s biggest forex trading scams through the forex firm.

Some 13,000 Kenyans lost about Sh1 billion to the couple within eight to nine months, according to the police. The investors were from several counties.

The couple allegedly told depositors they would use their capital to trade in stocks in internationally listed companies, but fell back on the promise as soon as the money was deposited in their account.

Every investor was asked to deposit a minimum of Sh25,000 at VIP Portal.

The couple promised investors dividends of between 60 and 80 per cent of the amount deposited for four consecutive months.

After the expiry of the four months, the investors would get their initial total deposits back.