A Call From the Boiler Room

I had just sat down at my desk this morning when my cell phone rang. An earnest-sounding woman introduced herself as Lauren Sinclair from Wynnwood Mercantile and asked for a few minutes of my time.

I was unprepared for the barrage that followed...

“Mr. Dyson, according to our records, you are a financial professional. Is that true?

“Well then, Mr. Dyson. You will be well aware how precarious the economic situation in the U.S. is at the moment. The trade deficit is at a record high. Were you aware of that, Mr. Dyson?

“And did you know that debt levels in the U.S. are about to cause a crash in the value of the U.S. dollar?

“You didn’t know that, Mr. Dyson? It’s very lucky we got hold of you this morning. I must tell you, our research has highlighted that in the next few weeks, a huge crash in the forex markets will cause the value of the U.S. dollar to move much lower.

“Mr. Dyson – may I call you Tom? Tom, when the dollar goes up, the euro goes down. Do you know will would happen to the euro if the dollar goes down?

“Yes, Tom. That is a big move. As a finance professional, I’m sure you’d be interested in making money from this move. Would you be interested in profiting from this opportunity, Tom?

“I understand you’re skeptical, Tom. Have you ever heard of Bill Gates? What about Warren Buffett? I’m sure you’ve heard of the OPEC. Well, they are all buying euros, too. Did you know that, Tom?

“Look Tom... Where are you right now. I mean... are you at your desk? May I ask what kind of work you do?

“Tom, I understand you’re busy. I’m busy too. Tom, just answer me this. If what I have to tell you in the next two minutes could make you $30,000, don’t you think that would be time well spent?

“Tom, have you got a pen and paper near you? Please write down these two words for me: ‘leverage’ and ‘protection.’

“Have you written those two words down? Do you know what ‘leverage’ means, Tom?

“No, that’s incorrect, Tom. Would you like to know what leverage means? It means you can magnify your profits without risking any more money. Do you like the sound of that, Mr. Dyson...?”

The conversation went on like this for another 20 minutes or so. I wanted to find out where she was leading me, so I didn’t hang up. It turns out, she wanted me to wire 10,000 British pounds to a clearing account with Commerzbank in Germany and open an options trading account with her firm. When I appeared reluctant, she told me a senior trader had just come on the trading floor and I should talk to him.

He was the head trader. He gave me another 10-minute sales pitch. When it was obvious I wasn’t interested, he hung up on me. Trading currencies, or “forex” as they call it, is what I’m not interested in... although it sure has gotten popular...

First came books with titles like Forex Made Simple. Then came infomercials. And now we’ve got people calling my cell phone from boiler rooms overseas.

All I can figure is, after years of the stock market doing poorly, and now that real estate is turning sour, “getting rich in forex,” must be the latest big thing.

Our advice... unless you REALLY know what you’re doing here, whenever you hear the words “get rich in forex” please cover your ears. Without a doubt, you’ll be glad you did.

Good investing,

Tom