Harris at Large on Sunday Program #19
Announcing the Launch of Castries Real Estate Referral MeetUp Group. Join at https://www.meetup.com/Castries-Real-Estate-Referral-Group-Meetup-Group/ and secure your invitation to the Launch on Sept. 16, 2020.
Sunday 13th September, 2020
Harris At Large on Sunday! Program: #19
Salutation/Introduction:
Hi Folks! Happy Sunday! This Facebook Live Show is coming to you live from my home in Black Bay, Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia. I am your Host – Edward Harris.
Here is my selected Quote for today:
“We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.†Earl Nightingale
House keeping:
As usual, the notes of my weekly programme are posted on my archive at www.stluciasimplybeautiful.com While visiting you can catch up on over 400 of my articles archived on the site. I strongly encourage you to read the detailed notes provided on the website.
Thought of the week:
“It is never going to be a free world as long as there are persons among us who only see rising to the top, by suppressing others.â€
Happy Anniversary:
To all those who are celebrating an anniversary or anniversaries this week, I wish you and your loved ones, Happiness with lots of Blessings!
An Urgent Issue:
Right upfront if you are listening to my voice today, I will like you to do something as soon as you are finished listening to this programme. Go to my most recent post regarding Believe Nation and join David Imonitie, a young black multi-millionaire who has been successful because of his belief and dedication to excellence. He has developed the Believe Nation platform and is sharing his success principles with the world for free. Go to https://believenation.prupel.com/register/?ref=2033 A bit of motivation can always help these days.
Saint Lucia today:
St. Lucia Simply Beautiful and Blessed – St. Lucia COVID 19 Death Free! Let us continue to adhere to the protocols such as the washing of hands, wearing masks, and social distancing. These protocols are worth repeating again and again.
I ended my programme last week with my concern about the state of crime in our country – Saint Lucia. I feel that every attempt should be made to grapple with this scourge affecting our nation at this time. I am calling upon the authorities to kick off this process with a think tank involving our best minds. Do not let us start and stop, there must be a sustained effort to solve this problem. Let us begin with talks in schools for the children and town hall meetings to reach adults.
St. Lucians continue to be concerned about their future but are cheerfully taking it one day at a time, counting their blessings!
Communication:
There was a time when everyone thought that it was only possible to communicate face to face by traveling to meetings, be it locally or overseas. Suddenly life has changed, and today, we have adapted to Skype and Zoom effortlessly. Many years, I have been suggesting that communication via the internet should be introduced, especially in reaching out to the various towns so that business persons and professionals could attend meetings in the comfort of their offices, and save them from having to travel for hours to and from Castries. It is time for due consideration to be given to this suggestion. Associations could get involved and demonstrate the possibilities.
Politics in the Region and the United States of America:
CARICOM States
Our prayers go out on behalf of the Government and people of Guyana as we join them in mourning the loss of 3 young men who were murdered on the West Coast of Berbice. Just when the new administration was about settling down to putting management in place and establish their policies, this tragedy occurred.
In the interest of transparency, regional and international investigators have been invited to visit Guyana to assist their law enforcement professionals.
US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is scheduled to visit Guyana this week. We await the news especially as it relates to Venezuela’s claim to a substantial portion of Guyana’s land.
Except for the problems in Guyana and the threats of storms, things are quiet in the region.
Politics in the U.S.A.
Politics in the USA is Hot! Hot! Hot! During the past week, President Trump had his days with the media and a rush of books that have revealed the true Trump. Yet, the situation he has found himself in at the moment seems to have done very little to shift his base.
Listening to 60 minutes at 7.00 pm on CBS, channel 142 on Flow tonight is a must, as Bob Woodward is interviewed to talk about his book entitled RAGE. There is a need for another book entitled DONALD TRUMP REVEALED combining excerpts of the three most recent books by Maryanne Trump Barry, Michael Cohen, and Bob Woodward.
Over the next 50 days, the heat will be on. I can’t wait to view the first debate. Trump is yet to be christened with a name that will stick, as he has named everyone who has crossed his path.
Staying Alive Financially:
I finished the Side Hustle Accelerator programme and am ready to apply the techniques learned and share with others. While getting the notes together for this programme, I listened to a webinar on Passive Income and it was so interesting. It is all about putting your mind into motion as you pursue additional income. For many of us it can well be the only income. Don’t settle for less, check out all the opportunities for finding a source of passive income. Check Youtube and Google. For those in business, I recommend that you read up on what is going on in the developed world and apply applicable creative ways in improving sales in these challenging times.
I feel that after the pandemic, I will seek out a Doctorate Degree based on the experiences I have gleaned through reading. Dr. Ed Harris sounds good to me.
As promised, I wrote to the Agency that was responsible for the circulation of the WARNING NOTICE that informed citizens of financial scams which came out strongly against Ponzi and Pyramid Schemes. For the benefit of my viewers, I am placing copies of the Warning Notice COVID 19 RELATED SCAMS and my response which I hope will find its way up the Governor of the ECCB. I was heartened that I received a call from the ECSRC official and a written response. Unfortunately, my MLM concerns have to be dealt with by another agency, hopefully, I wouldn’t have to write another letter but I am so committed to the people of the region that I want to find a way to inform and educate our citizens of the region in matters of MLM. As I write these notes it dawned on me to start a FACEBOOK GROUP.
Conclusion:
Let us continue to keep our eyes on Guyana and the USA, and pray that God will put a hand in the affairs of men everywhere.
Keep the faith, Yahweh is in charge, keep on praying, and expect daily Miracles!
Stay safe, until next week.
Your host – Ed Harris – Bye!
21 July 2020
WARNING NOTICE: COVID-19 RELATED SCAMS
The Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission (ECSRC) advises the public in the member countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) to be aware of fraudulent investment offerings that are being circulated via the internet and other channels.
These scams are currently being promoted using the COVID-19 pandemic as a cover to target unsuspecting or vulnerable individuals in times of economic stagnation and downturns. They include Pyramid Schemes, Unauthorised Forex Trading, false COVID-19 related investments, and Work From Home and Personal Finance Scams.
Pyramid Schemes
A Pyramid Scheme is a fraudulent investment offering that profits almost solely through the recruitment of other participants into the programme. The ECSRC warns the public to be on the alert for the following red flags of a Pyramid Scheme:
1. Emphasis on recruiting new participants to join the scheme;
2. Promise of a high return over a short time;
3. No genuine product or service is offered; and
4. Complex commission structure.
Unauthorised Foreign Exchange Market (Forex) Trading
Unauthorised Forex Trading Scams offer the chance to trade in foreign exchange, contracts for difference, binary options, crypto-assets, and other commodities. These scams offer very high returns and guaranteed profits either through managed accounts where the firm makes trades on the investor’s behalf or by trading using the firm’s trading platform.
The ECSRC also warns of other types of financial scams which all seek to capitalise on the unprecedented anxiety caused by the COVID 19 pandemic, such as:
• Work-From-Home Scams: fraudsters seek to take advantage of individuals seeking alternative sources of financing due to COVID 19 related measures. ECCB Financial Complex, P O Box 1855 Bird Rock, Basseterre St Kitts/Nevis Media Contact: Secretary Phone: (869) 465-2537 Ext 3279 Email: ecsrc@eccb-centralbank.org Website: www.ecsrc.com
• Personal Finance Scams: using the fear of current economic conditions, fraudsters target individuals by posing as a financial institution requesting sensitive personal or financial information.
All of these schemes are usually operated in violation of the law by evading legal requirements such as obtaining the necessary licences or authorisations to raise funds from the public for collective investment purposes.
How to Protect Yourself
1. Be suspicious of persons who contact you to invest quickly or promise high returns on your investment.
2. Consider seeking financial advice or guidance before you invest.
3. Ensure that any individual or firm with which you conduct business is licensed or authorised by the ECSRC or other relevant government authority.
The ECSRC will continue to take the necessary measures to prevent securities fraud in the Eastern Caribbean Securities Market, therefore, if you are aware of or have been the victim of a fraudulent scheme in the ECCU, we encourage you to contact the ECSRC via email at ecsrc@eccb-centralbank.org or the law enforcement authorities in your country.
The ECSRC is the regulator of securities business in the ECCU. The member countries of the ECCU are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The securities industry in the ECCU is governed by uniform securities legislation, the Securities Act 2001, and its amendments and Regulations to the Act. The primary functions of the Commission are to maintain the integrity of the Eastern Caribbean Securities Market; protect investors; promote market efficiency, and facilitate market development. —END—
September 9, 2020-09-12
RESPONSE
Secretary
ECSRC
I am in receipt of a copy of your ECSRC Market Advisory – Warning Notice – COVID 19 Related Scams, and take this opportunity to draw to your attention my concerns and recommendations as follows:
1. While your Warning has spelt out a few areas where scams are likely to be perpetuated, I feel that there should be continuous education in matters of investing in our region and the rest of the world, beginning at the secondary school level.
2. The issue of Pyramid and Ponzi Schemes has prevented many individuals from getting involved in legitimate Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)/Network Marketing businesses. The industry has been around for over 7 decades. There are thousands of Network Marketing Companies in the USA alone, with over 20 million Distributors and 36 billion USD in Sales. Caribbean people at all levels, even the unemployed are joining MLM programmes every day. Unfortunately, no Caribbean Entrepreneur has seen it fit to establish an MLM company to meet the needs of the people of our region.
3. There are 3 MLM companies, namely IML, Tradera, and Epic operating in the Foreign Exchange training space where they teach Forex Trading and offer an MLM opportunity as well. Epic released its Pre-Launch programme only a few days ago. Our people are taking their own initiative to learn the operations of the Forex market. At some point, students begin to trade. Is this legitimate?
4. There are many companies promoting Bitcoin. What do we do?
5. I propose that a committee be established in each OECS territory to begin the education process while at the same time seeking to establish a system of educating our secondary school students.
6. I further suggest that a Special Committee be established to study the MLM/Network Marketing Industry with the goal of forming a company offering a digital product with the support of the ECCB, targeting Caribbean people first, then extending to the Diaspora and the rest of the world.
7. Finally, MLM can offer a platform to inform and educate our people, especially our youth, in all aspects of life skills, while affording them the opportunity to earn commissions and incentives, in an effort to alleviate poverty among people of all ages.
I will like very much to discuss any aspect of this email with officials of your institution.
Best wishes,
Edward A. Harris