Beware of financial quacks & charlatans on the road to wealth

Our society today is filled with men and women who are involved in doing illegal things to amass wealth. We have many crooks, quacks and charlatans trying to pull a fast one, pretending that their wealth is genuine and legitimate.

For the purposes of definition a financial quack or charlatan is an individual who amasses wealth by false pretenses, fraud, corruption, ritualism, prostitution or any other vices that our society frowns at. This money is generally referred to as “dirty” money because it is amassed without going through the proper wealth building process, while legitimate wealth undertaking generates “clean” money.

The reason I have decided to shed light on this is because many people have the erroneous belief that money is money, no matter the source. Nothing could be further from the truth. People with questionable wealth sources usually face serious repercussions and end up hurting those around them. People in their bid to marry rich spouses or get rich quick have fallen into the hands of these people. You would do well to check before getting involved with anyone.

So then, how does one spot a financial quack or charlatan? Here are several pointers:

Spending as if money is going out of fashion

People who spend as if their bank balances don’t matter, as if they have an infinitesimal amount of money stashed away are likely to have acquired it illegitimately. And they are everywhere – at the clubs, weddings, funerals and all social occasions throwing money at other people, or buying loads of stuff for people they don’t even know. No one who makes money legitimately throws it around this way. There are indeed better and more silent ways to give to people, however they can’t be bothered to try them because they want everyone to see them lavishing money.

They don’t share the secrets of their financial success with anyone

If there’s one thing I have found in my years of studying the legitimately rich, it is that they usually have a burden for the less privileged. They are always willing to help them by sharing their stories, mentoring them and encouraging them to succeed. They believe that if they can succeed then others can succeed as well. But the fraudulent cannot be bothered because the secrets behind their wealth are unsavoury.

They are the only rich ones in their circle

An individual is likely to be a quack financially when he moves around with so many people all the time. He has a circle of friends all around him that always come begging for money and continually praising him to high heavens. He is their world and revels in being the centre of attention at all times. Legitimately rich people want to move with other legitimately rich people in order to improve or become more successful, not to carry hangers-on all around town.

They believe everyone has a price in money terms

While I firmly believe that everyone has a price, but not everyone’s price is in money terms. There are just a couple of things that money cannot buy. Someone who always tries to use money to win people over, or strongly believes that his money will make a way for him all the time is not likely to have made that money legitimately. Throwing money around makes people to care only about what they can get, don’t be too surprised that when the money dries up they will abandon you.

Run legitimate businesses as fronts for their illegal activities

Financial quacks use the cover of legitimate businesses as fronts to cover what they really do for a living. However if you look really well you can tell that their legitimate businesses inflows can never generate enough to fund their luxurious lifestyle. A deeper look into those businesses will show they lack structure, purpose and direction because they are just shells masking the true intention of their promoters which is illegally gotten wealth and gains.

Continuously brag about their accomplishments and possessions

The question is – why do you want people to know that you’re rich? Let’s face it the more people that know the more problems you have. There’s nothing better for a legitimately wealthy individual than to want to keep a low profile so as to avoid stress. But then you find these supposedly rich people shouting from the roof tops and showing off their latest possessions and telling everyone around them who cares to listen how great they are. People who make their money legitimately hardly make noise about it.

Storing large amounts of cash or doing business only in cash

In this day and age of electronic transfers and payment systems you find someone who is always carrying cash around and insisting on using cash all the time may have something to hide. Afterall banking transactions can always be easily traced, hence the need to keep loads of money close by for easy reach.

They cannot tell the difference between a viable and unviable business idea/opportunity

Legitimate successes understand how money and businesses work, since it was through this means that they attained wealth and fortune. They are always willing to look into other opportunities with a view to continually replicating their success, and they can tell what works and what doesn’t. On the other hand the financial quack or charlatan does not understand the first thing about business or how to create value.

They don’t save

The financial quacks aversion to keeping money in bank accounts also translates to an aversion to saving or keeping money for the long term. These people cannot wait for long term returns, and because they are always spending they have nothing left because they have spent it all.

They don’t trust anyone

Can a thief trust another not to steal from him? Trust is a quality that is lacking amongst those claiming to legitimately create wealth. They may spend on you but they cannot entrust you with anything because they believe everyone is out to take advantage or shortchange them.

Please be warned that keeping relationships with these people will only lead to misery and suffering in the long run, whether it is in a marriage, business or social setting. Yes what they possess may be attractive but joining up with them is a recipe for disaster in the long run. You are better off starting out with people who have nothing but good values and are legitimately working towards creating wealth in the long run. It’s time to stop judging a person by what he or she has and rather look at the worth of his/her character and the person’s potentials. It’s time to refuse to be deceived by the charlatans in our midst especially since there are repercussions to amassing ii-gotten wealth.

Kenneth Doghudje