The rise in illegal investment cases is quite worrying. There are several steps you can take to recognize the characteristics of fraudulent investments. Head of Institutional & Intermediary Business PT STAR AM, Kemal Fajri Mohsin, explained that the characteristics of fake investments are generally seen in their promise to offer high profits in a short time. Furthermore, fraudulent investments usually have minimal information regarding the source of the profits obtained. These illegal investments will not have valid sources of information or information to explain the investment flow to investors.

Another thing that is clearly visible from fraudulent investments is the recruitment scheme for new members that must be carried out by investors. The reason is that the more new members there are, the greater the profits will be. "Inviting investors to actively recruit new members, and most importantly they don't have permits and are not registered with the OJK," explained Kemal.

Cases of fraudulent investments worth hundreds of billions of rupiah were trending recently. This of course causes losses, and can even make the public and potential investors reluctant to invest. In fact, investment is very useful, because it can prevent investors from the effects of inflationary pressures.

Apart from that, investment can also increase the value of investors' money by taking advantage of the compounding effect. Of course, all of this can be obtained by seeking as much knowledge as possible regarding legal investments. "Don't be afraid to invest, but as potential investors, students must also be wise and choose investment instruments that suit their risk profile, of course they must first learn about the type of investment," added Kemal. According to the OJK website, the public needs to be wary of fraudulent investments which are rife.

One of the most effective ways is to find out information about the company, employees and products offered. Then, request a written copy of the marketing and sales plan from the company. Bearing in mind that this is disclosure of information that the public has the right to know. In principle, the greater the profit offered, the greater the risk of loss experienced.

Never believe the lure or false promises of fraudulent investments that offer profits that are too large and unrealistic. Finally, find out whether there is demand for similar investment products on the market. For further information, the public can take advantage of OJK's financial consumer services through the investor alert portal (IAP) in the Ilmu Uangmu mobile application.