# Golden Sparrow



## Housecalls (30 August 2011)

any dealings with Golden Sparrow?  All seems to be too good to be true, as scams usually are.


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## savi (2 September 2011)

I have been contacted by golden Sparrow. I did a company search and found the directors name and the registered business address. the registered business address appears to be a holiday home in Surfers Paradise, (a bit suss). They have been in business since 2008 and there don't appear to have had bad publicity. The broker I spoke to told me his broker licence which I checked with ASIC but the company does not hold an AFS licence, do they need to? I am doing more checks on the broker. The office address in Canberra is located in a hotel called the Realm which leases office space. I contacted the hotel to confirm and found out the office that golden Sparrow operate from is a virtual office. (maybe suss). The story is the brokers operate from around the country and don't go to the office. I gave them $1,000 to invest on a trial which has been there for 1 week and apparently returned approx. 3% so far. I am very sceptical and relise I have probably donated that $1,000.
If anyone else has any information to share on this company it would be appreciated.


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## McLovin (2 September 2011)

If it sounds like a duck...

One question, did you ask who the custodian was before you gave "them" your money?


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## savi (6 September 2011)

Well I thought I said good bye to my $1000 trial money but when I asked for it back it was in my account the next day. On the trial for one week it made approx 2.5%.
Still would like anybody that has used Golden Sparrow to post on this thread good or bad.


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## Knobby22 (6 September 2011)

savi said:


> Well I thought I said good bye to my $1000 trial money but when I asked for it back it was in my account the next day. On the trial for one week it made approx 2.5%.
> Still would like anybody that has used Golden Sparrow to post on this thread good or bad.




It was only $1000. Try it with $500,000 and see how it goes!


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## investorpaul (6 September 2011)

Im not saying Golden Sparrow do this (I have never heard of them).

But here is a well know scam that you should always be aware of:

Conman: Hi Investor, come to this free expo/trial/presentation...... I can make you x% a year, easy, no risk at all. I invest your money in this fantastic product that the investment community is yet to fully appreciate. All I need is $100,000 and I can make you millions.

Investor: I don't know, it sounds risky.

Conman: Ok well instead of giving me the whole $100,000 to invest, how about you just give me $5,000 for a month and I'll show you how much I can make you.

Investor: Ok, I guess its only $5,000

Conman: (1 Month later) Well I told you our investments were rock solid I have made you 20% in one month, here is your $6,000 ($5000 original investment + $1000 profit).

Investor: Wow, sorry I doubted you. Here is my full $100,000

Conman: Thanks, I'll invest it in the same product straight away. I will be making you 20% a month easy.

Investor: (1 month later) hhhhmmmm..... I havn't heard from my advisor in a while I better give him a call (phone rings out).

Investor (2 months later) hhhhmmmm...... rings again, no answer. This is unusual, maybe he is on holiday

Investor: (3 months later) where is he? he wont answer his mobile, office phone or email and I looked up his address and it was an old run down warehouse. I might just phone ASIC to see if they have his address.

ASIC: I'm sorry to tell you but it appears you have fallen victim to .......... scam. But don't feel bad we have had a number of people call up this week with the same issue so your not the only person scammed.


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## easy touch (6 September 2011)

I have just been contacted by Charles from Golden Sparrow... with promises of some very attractive returns... 2% to 3% _per day!!!_
Charles says that I had been contacted previously, and he gave me a name I did remember, but I'm sure that was from another company, based on the Gold Coast. Not sure, but I think I wrote them off as dodgy at the time.
I also would appreciate any further info anyone can offer!


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## investorpaul (6 September 2011)

easy touch said:


> I have just been contacted by Charles from Golden Sparrow... with promises of some very attractive returns... 2% to 3% _per day!!!_
> Charles says that I had been contacted previously, and he gave me a name I did remember, but I'm sure that was from another company, based on the Gold Coast. Not sure, but I think I wrote them off as dodgy at the time.
> I also would appreciate any further info anyone can offer!




If that is the case just give him $1

$1 componded at a 3% return every day will equate to $45,699 within 1 year (365 days)

by the end of year 2 (730 days) you will have $2.2 billion 

and by the end of year 3 you will be able to bail out the US and Europe because you will have a wopping: *$110,642,970,609,317*


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## easy touch (6 September 2011)

investorpaul said:


> $1 componded at a 3% return every day will equate to $45,699 within 1 year (365 days)




Sorry! My bad! It wasn't per day.. it was per week. So it would take a little longer to bail out Uncle Sam.
Maybe I should email Pres Obama anyhow?


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## investorpaul (6 September 2011)

easy touch said:


> Sorry! My bad! It wasn't per day.. it was per week. So it would take a little longer to bail out Uncle Sam.
> Maybe I should email Pres Obama anyhow?




It would still only take just over 21 years to amass trillions of dollars based on the returns they are offering.

If he is so successful he would do it himself. 

Once I had a horse racing software provider call me and talk about how I could make huge returns with their fool proof software system. I asked him why the company didn't just use the software and make millions themself. I questioned him for at least half an hour and these were his answers:

1. Because they wanted to share the software so others could profit
2. Because the company accountant believed selling software was a more tax effective strategy than gambling.
3. Because it was not possible to gamble the amounts of money they had amassed.
4. The owner didnt work any more and had so much money that he decided to sell the software to their company to onsell to others.

While he was talking I did some quick calcs and told him that based on the returns he was offering I would be the richest man in the world within 6 or 7 years. His response:

"well anything is possible with our system"

I laughed at him so hard, then let him know that I felt sorry for him before hanging up.


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## Wysiwyg (6 September 2011)

investorpaul said:


> 1. Because they wanted to share the software so others could profit
> 2. Because the company accountant believed selling software was a more tax effective strategy than gambling.
> 3. Because it was not possible to gamble the amounts of money they had amassed.
> 4. The owner didnt work any more and had so much money that he decided to sell the software to their company to onsell to others.
> ...



Good to see you aren't a soft touch.


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## investorpaul (6 September 2011)

Wysiwyg said:


> Good to see you aren't a soft touch.




I kind of enjoy it when they call up.

I love playing along with them for a while, before knocking down everything they have put forward.

Most of the time the salesperson just goes silent before mumbling thanks for your time, but this guy really did believe in the BS he was selling.

After I hung up I was kicking myself though because I forgot to tell him that he should buy the software to so he can be the richest person in the world instead of me.


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## Julia (6 September 2011)

I actually have a bit of sympathy for the poor jerks whose crap job it is to phone people and try to sell the unsaleable.

It must be a really demoralising job, and one which surely no one would take unless they could find no other source of income.

They're just delivering the spiel they have been trained to present.  It's not their product, almost certainly, and it must be pretty horrible to try to present it to prospective customers as a valid investment.


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## medicowallet (6 September 2011)

Smelly dodgy to me..

Savi, no offense, but 2 posts and in support of the company, does not help credibility.


Readers beware, do your own research before dealing with this company


MW


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## savi (7 September 2011)

medicowallet said:


> Smelly dodgy to me..
> 
> Savi, no offense, but 2 posts and in support of the company, does not help credibility.
> 
> ...




I seem to be the only one thats had dealings with them and I can only say whats happened to me. I would be very very catious in any dealings and that is why I am on this forum, to find out anyone that have any information about them. Maybe one of you guys that are very switched on with investments could ring them and find out if they are talking crap. There numbers on there website www.goldensparrow.com.au.


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## savi (7 September 2011)

By the way this thread is one way to find out more about this company, when you search golden sparrow you can easily find this thread. So if they are dodgy everyone else can find out for themselves.


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## medicowallet (7 September 2011)

savi said:


> By the way this thread is one way to find out more about this company, when you search golden sparrow you can easily find this thread. So if they are dodgy everyone else can find out for themselves.




Or the company was set up years ago and are only now starting to do the dodgy.

And soon, will bombard this site with fake e-mail addresses to make them seem legit.


1. Do your own research
2. Don't believe everything you read on the internet
3. Most things that seem too good to be true are


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## skc (7 September 2011)

savi said:


> I seem to be the only one thats had dealings with them and I can only say whats happened to me. I would be very very catious in any dealings and that is why I am on this forum, to find out anyone that have any information about them. Maybe one of you guys that are very switched on with investments could ring them and find out if they are talking crap. There numbers on there website www.goldensparrow.com.au.




Scam and spam...


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## medicowallet (7 September 2011)

savi said:


> Well I thought I said good bye to my $1000 trial money but when I asked for it back it was in my account the next day. On the trial for one week it made approx 2.5%.
> Still would like anybody that has used Golden Sparrow to post on this thread good or bad.




I don't know the particulars of this company, but this is the kind of thing that happened in the movie Boiler room 

Hello kind sir,  you made $25 in one week, if you send us $100000 then you can make $2500 per week.

1 week later: " I want to withdraw my money"

Sorry sir, the investment has performed poorly, and is now worth $75000.. 

etc followed by a strategy for you to invest more to cover your losses


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## stockGURU (7 September 2011)

This company appears very dubious and I would urge everyone to avoid them.

Their website states, "Golden Sparrow Pty Limited (ACN 131 939 216 has a talented team of employees coordinated from our Barton office". However, a Google search of their address reveals that it's run by ServCorp, which means it's probably just a cheap virtual office: http://www.servcorp.com.au/locations/canberra/barton-canberra

Their website does not identify those who run the company, it conveniently refers to them as "diverse team of experts", which is essentially meaningless. Who are they and what are their qualifications? Why aren't they licensed? 

Also, their website quotes ridiculously high monthly returns from 2009 and yet their website was first registered a little over a month ago? 

This one has warning signs written all over it! Beware!


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## McLovin (7 September 2011)

savi said:


> I seem to be the only one thats had dealings with them and I can only say whats happened to me. I would be very very catious in any dealings and that is why I am on this forum, to find out anyone that have any information about them. Maybe one of you guys that are very switched on with investments could ring them and find out if they are talking crap. There numbers on there website www.goldensparrow.com.au.




You don't need to ring them. This is a scam.

1) They cold called you. If they were really achieving those returns they'd have people with a lot more money than you beating down their door.

2) There are no names of directors/advisors mentioned on their website, always a red flag.

3) How someone can achieve the "Moderate" account returns without gearing by using "Australian equities through a portfolio of large capitalisation stocks" is a little unbelieveable.


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## skc (7 September 2011)

McLovin said:


> You don't need to ring them. This is a scam.
> 
> 1) They cold called you. If they were really achieving those returns they'd have people with a lot more money than you beating down their door.
> 
> ...




Agree. There is ABSOLUTELY no doubt that anyone who cold calls in the finance industry are running scams. That's all the proof you need.


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## investorpaul (7 September 2011)

Wow, just checked out their website

Red Flags left right and centre:

1. No names of Directors, etc
2. Virtual address
3. Nice fuzzy pictures of similing retires
4. Very little information about what they do with very vague and generic terms used
5. Very little history of their performance and what they do provide is clearly exaggerated. Just compound their returns for a year or two and see.

No need to call, just ignore them 

Instead go to www.asx.com.au and do their free education courses to learn about the stock market, investing and what a stock broker (full service) can actually do for you


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## McLovin (7 September 2011)

skc said:


> Agree. There is ABSOLUTELY no doubt that anyone who cold calls in the finance industry are running scams. That's all the proof you need.




I'm looked pretty hard and I can't find anything about their AFSL on their website. 

Why doesn't TT and ACA spend less time on dodgy tradies and more time on these sort of scams.


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## skc (7 September 2011)

McLovin said:


> I'm looked pretty hard and I can't find anything about their AFSL on their website.
> 
> Why doesn't TT and ACA spend less time on dodgy tradies and more time on these sort of scams.




Because they are probably stupid enough to invest themselves.


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## McLovin (7 September 2011)

skc said:


> Because they are probably stupid enough to invest themselves.




Right you are.


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## investorpaul (7 September 2011)

skc said:


> Because they are probably stupid enough to invest themselves.




I wish this forum had thumbs up!

lol


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## Julia (7 September 2011)

investorpaul said:


> I wish this forum had thumbs up!
> 
> lol



There is a thumbs up icon in the group below the message box but I can't seem to make it attach to this post.


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## marioland (7 September 2011)

Those Julia wanted to put in, are post icons. There is a smilies button on the Fonts line, click on it and select which one you like, there's two different ones.

There you go


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## The Falcon (7 September 2011)

just have a look at their website.....generic rubbish.

i guess this is what the insulation installer scammers are up to now :


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## Julia (7 September 2011)

marioland said:


> Those Julia wanted to put in, are post icons. There is a smilies button on the Fonts line, click on it and select which one you like, there's two different ones.
> 
> There you go



Ah, thanks marioland.  I should have looked more diligently.


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## basilio (7 September 2011)

Clearly a scam like scores of other Ponzi  systems promising high yields from obscure investment programs.

It can be easy to get sucked into plausible scams of this kind.  I remember a few years ago there was PIPS (People in Profits system)  It was very convincing and in fact the directors were quite public and manged to convince millions of people world wide that this was their Tatts ticket to finacial freedom.

It did evidently collapse but managed to score a record as one of the most successful Internet scams of its type.  

I thought it was a particularly plausible and well done scheme  (it managed to suck in a few friends )  and attempted to get ASIC to take action. No luck at all. They waited until it fell over before riding to the rescue.

Of course there are still plenty of current similar scams in operation.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2004/dec/11/scamsandfraud.jobsandmoney
http://www.scam.com/showthread.php?p=41152

Todays version of the 2004 PIPS scheme

http://www.forexnewschannel.com/tag/million-dollar-pips-scam

_________________________________________________________________________

Have to say after reading their website there is no hint of  it being a scam. I imagine that  the promise of unrealistic returns comes when you start to talk with the people. I could see how this could convince many people on particularly if on  paper it seemed to be "successful" in the short term. -


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## Plumber1 (12 September 2011)

This is the type of thing that you get for your money. This is the type of people you are dealing with.

http://www.harryomerosscammer.com/

Listen to the audio of Mr Harry Omeros speaking to one of his clients. Its a classic

Be very wary of any spruiker of investment schemes.

It is also worthwhile reading the subpages "Tell your story" http://www.harryomerosscammer.com/?page_id=136 and 
Just got scammed" http://www.harryomerosscammer.com/?page_id=316


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## McLovin (13 September 2011)

Plumber1 said:


> This is the type of thing that you get for your money. This is the type of people you are dealing with.
> 
> http://www.harryomerosscammer.com/
> 
> Listen to the audio of Mr Harry Omeros speaking to one of his clients. Its a classic




While I hope Harry and his band of merry men get their just desserts, isn't illegal to record audio of someone without their knowledge?


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## Snowy170 (22 September 2011)

I have also been contacted by Golden Sparrow. I am very skeptical and this thread has made me more skeptical.
It seems like a scam, but it also seems like it could be legit.
Why is this thread the only information I can find on the net? If lots of people had been scammed by this company wouldn't there be more people writing about it on forums etc.?
The person who called me has agreed to meet me in person. How do I find out if this is legit?

Thanks.


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## tech/a (22 September 2011)

Ill be rolling out the *BLACK* Duck very soon stay tuned.


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## McLovin (22 September 2011)

Snowy170 said:


> I have also been contacted by Golden Sparrow. I am very skeptical and this thread has made me more skeptical.
> It seems like a scam, *but it also seems like it could be legit.*
> Why is this thread the only information I can find on the net? If lots of people had been scammed by this company wouldn't there be more people writing about it on forums etc.?
> The person who called me has agreed to meet me in person. How do I find out if this is legit?
> ...




I don't mean to sound rude, but did you actually read this thread before you wrote the part I highlighted?


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## skc (22 September 2011)

Snowy170 said:


> I have also been contacted by Golden Sparrow. I am very skeptical and this thread has made me more skeptical.
> It seems like a scam, but it also seems like it could be legit.
> Why is this thread the only information I can find on the net? If lots of people had been scammed by this company wouldn't there be more people writing about it on forums etc.?
> The person who called me has agreed to meet me in person. How do I find out if this is legit?
> ...




So a company that seems like a scam but also seems legit is good enough for you?

Here's how you find out whether it's legit... give them heaps of money and see how you go.

Or just trust some of the people here who have seen threads like these for the 200th time.

If someone saw this thread and got scammed then they deserve it...


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## investorpaul (22 September 2011)

Snowy170 said:


> I have also been contacted by Golden Sparrow. I am very skeptical and this thread has made me more skeptical.
> It seems like a scam, but it also seems like it could be legit.
> Why is this thread the only information I can find on the net? If lots of people had been scammed by this company wouldn't there be more people writing about it on forums etc.?
> The person who called me has agreed to meet me in person. How do I find out if this is legit?
> ...




Read my post a couple of pages back about compounding $1. If your still happy to proceed just give them $1 because based on the returns they quoted the other poster you have the potential to be the richest person in the world within a relatively short amount of time.


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## Knobby22 (22 September 2011)

Give me your money and I promise to return half of it back in a years time. This will be a massive improvement on giving your money to them.


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## Snowy170 (22 September 2011)

It's very easy to be close minded and pass judgement, but who really knows for sure it's a scam?
I "think" it is a scam, but the strategy seems like it could be plausible. Keeping in mind I have no experience in the industry.
That is a why I thought I'd post on here. 
If there was a 1% chance it wasn't a scam how would you find that out before investing?
I'm not going to invest in something I'm not sure about, but if I invested (or donated) $1000 here and lost it I would be doing better then I have with a lot of my shares.


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## McLovin (22 September 2011)

Snowy170 said:


> It's very easy to be close minded and pass judgement, but who really knows for sure it's a scam?
> I "think" it is a scam, but the strategy seems like it could be plausible. Keeping in mind I have no experience in the industry.
> That is a why I thought I'd post on here.
> If there was a 1% chance it wasn't a scam how would you find that out before investing?
> I'm not going to invest in something I'm not sure about, but if I invested (or donated) $1000 here and lost it I would be doing better then I have with a lot of my shares.




Yeah, if I had a system that was generating those returns I'd really need to be cold calling retail investors trying to get money. I think the clue is in the fact you said "it could be plausible" then followed it with "I have no experience in the industry".

It's your money, do what you want. When you lose it all be sure to post back here so we can finally resolve the burning question:



> who really knows for sure it's a scam?


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## investorpaul (22 September 2011)

Snowy170 said:


> I "think" it is a scam, but the strategy seems like it could be plausible. Keeping in mind I have no experience in the industry.




So you have no experience, yet feel as though you are experienced enough to pass judgement on whether it is a scam or not...... good luck.



> If there was a 1% chance it wasn't a scam how would you find that out before investing?




In other words you are saying even if there is 99% chance it is a scam you still want to consider giving them your money...... good luck for the second time



> I'm not going to invest in something I'm not sure about, but if I invested (or donated) $1000 here and lost it I would be doing better then I have with a lot of my shares




So you are willing to donate $1000 to anyone who asks? 

Why would you "donate" money to a scheme that using your analogy has a 99% chance of being a scam?

Spin the roulette wheel mate, if you are not interested in considering the opinion of a number of well informed posters (SKC, Tech/a, etc) then why are you asking for opinions on a stock market forum.

If you don't like roulette perhaps you could withdraw $500 and flush it down the toilet. At least you will still have $500 in your account.


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## tech/a (22 September 2011)

Snowy said:


> It's very easy to be close minded and pass judgment, but who really knows for sure it's a scam?
> I "think" it is a scam, but the strategy seems like it could be plausible. Keeping in mind I have no experience in the industry.
> That is a why I thought I'd post on here.
> If there was a 1% chance it wasn't a scam how would you find that out before investing?
> I'm not going to invest in something I'm not sure about, but if I invested (or donated) $1000 here and lost it I would be doing better then I have with a lot of my shares.




Well *FIRST THING*
Ask for their ASIC license.---no license no hand over $$s
*SECONDLY*
Ask for a independently audited Trading account over the last 12 mths min.
If its that good they will be trading it NOW.
I know one who has 5 going NOW and fits the above.

Due diligence isnt that hard!!


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## skc (22 September 2011)

Snowy170 said:


> I have also been contacted by Golden Sparrow. I am very skeptical and this thread has made me more skeptical.
> It seems like a scam, but it also seems like it could be legit.
> Why is this thread the only information I can find on the net? If lots of people had been scammed by this company wouldn't there be more people writing about it on forums etc.?
> The person who called me has agreed to meet me in person. How do I find out if this is legit?
> ...






savi said:


> I have been contacted by golden Sparrow. I did a company search and found the directors name and the registered business address. the registered business address appears to be a holiday home in Surfers Paradise, (a bit suss). They have been in business since 2008 and there don't appear to have had bad publicity. The broker I spoke to told me his broker licence which I checked with ASIC but the company does not hold an AFS licence, do they need to? I am doing more checks on the broker. The office address in Canberra is located in a hotel called the Realm which leases office space. I contacted the hotel to confirm and found out the office that golden Sparrow operate from is a virtual office. (maybe suss). The story is the brokers operate from around the country and don't go to the office. I gave them $1,000 to invest on a trial which has been there for 1 week and apparently returned approx. 3% so far. I am very sceptical and relise I have probably donated that $1,000.
> If anyone else has any information to share on this company it would be appreciated.






easy touch said:


> I have just been contacted by Charles from Golden Sparrow... with promises of some very attractive returns... 2% to 3% _per day!!!_
> Charles says that I had been contacted previously, and he gave me a name I did remember, but I'm sure that was from another company, based on the Gold Coast. Not sure, but I think I wrote them off as dodgy at the time.
> I also would appreciate any further info anyone can offer!




OK... Question of the day. How many of these guys are from the same IP address?


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## Snowy170 (22 September 2011)

Paul,

Firstly I was admitting I don’t have enough experience to pass judgement. That is why I am asking some people who have more experience than me.

Secondly if there is a 1% chance this deal wasn’t a scam I would go to the effort of asking about it on a forum. That’s a long way off handing money over.

Thirdly “I’m not going to invest in something I’m not sure about.”

But if putting me down makes you feel like a big tough man, I’m glad I could help.

And thank you very much tech/a for your helpful response. No doubt it will help a few other people that find this thread.


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## investorpaul (22 September 2011)

Snowy170 said:


> Paul,
> 
> Firstly I was admitting I don’t have enough experience to pass judgement. That is why I am asking some people who have more experience than me.
> 
> ...




All I did was state facts based on your statements.

If you wish to proceed with this then there is nothing more to be said that good luck.


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## Snowy170 (22 September 2011)

investorpaul said:


> All I did was state facts based on your statements.
> 
> If you wish to proceed with this then there is nothing more to be said that good luck.




I don't wish to proceed, I wish to find out what I can from people who know more than me.

I also don't wish to having my words twisted to boost someone else's ego.

I have taken on board the serious replies and I thank the posters for them, but I still have questions. And that doesn't mean I am about to go and throw my money away.


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## Julia (22 September 2011)

Snowy, don't be too offended because some members are fairly outspoken.  If they didn't want to be helpful to you, they just wouldn't bother posting.

You concede you are inexperienced.  Just appreciate that many people here have seen dozens of these scams and find it hard to believe anyone can still get sucked in.

Good to know you're just, um, increasing your awareness and not actually planning to donate money to these people.

There are plenty of safe ways to invest.
Good luck.


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## AlphaOmega (29 October 2011)

*Re: Golden Sparrow - A SCAM*



Housecalls said:


> any dealings with Golden Sparrow?  All seems to be too good to be true, as scams usually are.




Golden Sparrow is a SCAM!  They don't hold an Australian Financial Services Licence; they cold call and impersonate real brokers who do hold an AFSL.

If you want to donate your money then do so to a worthwhile charity rather than enriching a bunch of criminals.


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## savi (10 October 2012)

Just to inform all involved with this thread. Golden Sparrow was a scam. I checked out the broker lic. and they were impersonating another honest broker using his name and broker number. ASIC investigators were involved and the company was taken to court and shut down, not sure if the scammers were court but I am sure there probably are some people out there that would like to get there hands on them.


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