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Costa del Sol Action Group protects expats against financial scams
| Published: | 6 Aug at 6 PM |
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As the financial chaos following the 2008 crash recedes, the focus is on expats living in retirement hubs overseas and suffering devastating losses via illegal salesmen touting Ponzi schemes and dodgy bonds.
One fact that newly-arrived expats in favourite retirement destinations often fail to take on board is that ‘it’s not the UK/USA’, especially as regards consumer protection legislation. From electrical appliances which fail after a month or so to different methods of construction, there’s a world of new experiences waiting for the unwary and uninformed.
Spain, considered to be one of the most popular retiree destinations, is no exception and, after the honeymoon period is over, most expats find the ‘Spanish way’ causes little more than inconvenience. However, there’s one sector which, if trusted, can and does regularly wreck lives and ruin retirement dreams.
Put succinctly, the casino culture with its illegal expat FAs is alive, well and preying on the pension pots of unsuspecting retirees. Inexperienced in financial matters and exposed to online and offline misinformation, disinformation and lies, thousands of expats are now facing retirement without sufficient funds for their survival.
The Costa del Sol Action Group was formed some six years ago with one aim in mind – to expose and discredit the scores of commission-hungry salesmen prowling the resorts in search of easy marks. It’s a non-profit organisation and is amazingly successful in identifying both online and offline scammers mis-selling household-name, poor-performance products originating in offshore jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
‘The Sharks Exposed’, its online magazine’s title, says it all, and offers articles, the latest on current scams and a list of unregulated firms to avoid at all costs. Its volunteers proactively check new arrivals on the financial scene, thus saving expats from making the worst mistake of their lives, as well as giving hope that their modus will spread to other international expat havens across the world.
One fact that newly-arrived expats in favourite retirement destinations often fail to take on board is that ‘it’s not the UK/USA’, especially as regards consumer protection legislation. From electrical appliances which fail after a month or so to different methods of construction, there’s a world of new experiences waiting for the unwary and uninformed.
Spain, considered to be one of the most popular retiree destinations, is no exception and, after the honeymoon period is over, most expats find the ‘Spanish way’ causes little more than inconvenience. However, there’s one sector which, if trusted, can and does regularly wreck lives and ruin retirement dreams.
Put succinctly, the casino culture with its illegal expat FAs is alive, well and preying on the pension pots of unsuspecting retirees. Inexperienced in financial matters and exposed to online and offline misinformation, disinformation and lies, thousands of expats are now facing retirement without sufficient funds for their survival.
The Costa del Sol Action Group was formed some six years ago with one aim in mind – to expose and discredit the scores of commission-hungry salesmen prowling the resorts in search of easy marks. It’s a non-profit organisation and is amazingly successful in identifying both online and offline scammers mis-selling household-name, poor-performance products originating in offshore jurisdictions such as the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
‘The Sharks Exposed’, its online magazine’s title, says it all, and offers articles, the latest on current scams and a list of unregulated firms to avoid at all costs. Its volunteers proactively check new arrivals on the financial scene, thus saving expats from making the worst mistake of their lives, as well as giving hope that their modus will spread to other international expat havens across the world.
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