Business & Economics Perspective Blogger

WeLiveSecurity It's crazy how I scroll Instagram to see my friends, then I see Dr. Deepfakes. I remember some images were of an old man, an old woman, and some of them used real doctors to promote quack advice. It also promotes "natural health treatments" that are "too good to be true". I was victimized by a scam in 2012 . Until now, I have  never recovered the money. I couldn't risk taking these blatant scams that says with statements like: "This is what your doctor is never going to tell you." "Only I know this miracle cure." "The big pharma industry doesn't want this or they'd all be shut down ." "The big pharma and hospitals are only after your money, not your health. It's all after money, unlike me." The basic accounting will tell you why hospitals actually need that huge sum of money  Let's refresh back to basic accounting . There's a big difference between the revenues (the money the hospital...

Alice Guo aka Guo Hua-Ping may be in jail now . However, I believe the saga is far from over . It reminds me that I actually wrote about how several idiots on Facebook go so far as to say, " Alice Guo should be a warning about open FDI! " Some have even gone as far as to say that POGO and Chinese spies should "justify" the Filipino First Policy . However, the harsher reality is that the Filipino First Policy may actually be encouraging dummy investors instead ! As the saga continues, I've decided to write what I might call my harshest entry yet. It's going to be Chinese New Year this year. This might be an entry that may need to be shared before the Lunar New Year! My grievances are  still ongoing because some people still demand #SahodItaasPresyoIbaba, no matter how destructive it  will be . That's why I use Venezuela as an example, especially during Nicolas Maduro's downfall . Back to the topic, I remember writing a joke post where I said, "Wh...

Happy New Year, right? There's this statement in Cebuano that says, "Sa Disyembre nag lipay-lipay. Sa Enero, naglikay-likay." For non-Cebuano speakers, it means, "Enjoying all December. Fleeing in January." It's because of the bad habits that are common during the Christmas season. I wrote an entry talking about when a Merry Christmas leads to an Unhappy New Year . After Christmas vacation, it can be common to talk about New Year's Resolutions. Sadly, there are resolutions meant to be broken or resolutions on paper only. Several people finish high school, go to college, get a job, but never gain the necessary knowledge of economics and finances. Instead, they continue to live the same habits year after year. Even worse, the same foolish behavioral patterns get passed down f rom parent to child to grandchild. Still stuck with financial habits that put one in a financial dodo The New Year starts and it can get funny. I tend to hate December because of the ...

  It's September and the -ber months are here. It's already known that  the Philippines has the longest Christmas celebration in the world . Christmas can be the most expensive time of the year. In the Philippines, Christmas decorations tend to be out earlier. With Christmas in mind, the keywords and key phrases that come to my mind are "overspending", "last-minute shopping", "buried in debt", "spending beyond your means", "feasting over finances", "just add sugar if it's bitter"--just to name a few of the many financial stupidities during Christmas. Such phrases can be linked to  the Filipino's typical lack of financial literacy . That's why discussing business and economics isn't more fun in the Philippines! It's not just because of financial illiteracy but also due to  economic illiteracy . Even worse, some people still adhere to what the late Lee Kuan Yew would call a third-world mentality . Suc...

  Today, I just got a warning from someone about the Press 9 scam. Somebody claimed to be from PLDT saying that the phone and Internet will be cut off. The next thing required was the press 9 procedure. Fortunately, the person called 171 to ask if it was such a thing. If the bills were paid properly  then one can say, "Wait, this is really another scam!"  I Googled "Press 9 scam" and found that one can lose a lot of money by just pressing 9 . Here's an excerpt from that article that was a warning. The article is written in India by an Indian. However, with the incident happening in the Philippines (and I wouldn't be surprised if my Indian friends warn me about it)--I'd like to share it nonetheless: “ These types of fraud usually try to create a sense of urgency or employ scare tactics to coerce the victim into complying with the attacker’s requests ,” Lukas Stefanko, Malware Analyst, ESET explains what makes these scams work. The biggest weapon that thes...

WWD I really hate December because of the heavy traffic. Some say that people do last-minute Christmas shopping because they just live paycheck to paycheck. However, the way things go during payday can tell why they can't have the money to do some early Christmas shopping . An irony indeed that Christmas comes early in the Philippines (September) but not the Christmas shopping.  Indeed, so many should realize that living paycheck-to-paycheck should be a warning not to splurge on it (read here ). Instead, they choose to many stupid activities. Maybe, call in the one-day paycheck where they immediately go splurging the paycheck when it arrives. They would focus more on their wants than their needs. I guess that's why some fools are demanding the stupidity of higher salaries and lower price of goods aka Sahod Itaas Presyo Ibaba. I'm afraid that such a move isn't economically feasible (read here ). Even if they do get a high-income job (or even become an OFW for better inco...

Earlier on, I wrote a post about why being stingy in one's expenses is also stupid . I witnessed some of my elders brag about how stingy they are, saying it's "some sacrifice". Sure, it's never ideal for children to get everything they want. However, it's not ideal for children not to be deprived of everything they need . Back on track, I think one of the many misguided things I've had was to assume expensive is always better. Sure, one needs to pay a higher price for better quality. I should expect to pay a higher price when I order tea or coffee from a tea store or coffee shop. However, there are some things in the world that are just plain overpriced . I would like to use a classic film scene to illustrate a point. As the holidays hit, maybe some people who were either parents or children in the 1990s may remember Jingle All the Way . It's one stupid film that delivers a smart message in some way. It can be a message against last-minute shopping and...

This has to be one of the most annoying scams ever. I may be in favor of SIM registration but you must realize it only reduces the chances of scams. Some people may still undergo the black part, buy multiple SIM cards, and not register them. Some of them may be hacked. However, without a SIM registration, I believe these SIMs can easily be blocked and marked as scams. Though, it might take more technology to trace them back. Right now, this is what's called the One Ring Phone Scam  reported last June 2023. How One Ring Phone Scam works Scammers will typically use an auto-dialer to make mass international calls to numerous people at once . Spoofed phone numbers will be used to seem legitimate in the caller ID display. They will only allow the phone to ring once then hang up, prompting a missed call notification on your end . If you call back, you risk being connected to an automated machine that will either ask you to stay on the line or connect you to a premium-rate number without ...

Not everyone can be rich but at most, you don't retire broke . I really found this hilarious video on Youtube. It made me laugh harder than viewing a comedy movie. There are so many animations used and it's becoming ridiculous . I wrote about financial gurus who have claims that are too good to be true . In the world of investment, if the claim's too good to be true then you ought to reject it outright. It's like how cryptocurrency billionaires may just be paid to promote a scam after all. They might just be out there in some vicious networking scheme where scammers join in to scam others.  This reminds me of childhood stupidity. I guess it's very easy to fall for unbelievable stories as a child. I remembered how a classmate of mine (who now has a good career) once stupidly said, "So and so is richer because he has more nice stuff." Thankfully, his thinking patterns changed. Such wasn't the case with another person (with the name first name) who bragge...