You will check three investment offers against a written checklist before any money moves.
Most of us have at least one investment offer we never quite dealt with. It might be an ad that keeps following you around, a link a relative forwarded to the family chat, or a message from a stranger who wanted to "share a good opportunity". You ignored it, but you never actually found out whether it was real.
In this exercise you'll check three offers properly, using the tools from lessons 4.1 to 4.3, and finish with a written decision for each. The aim is a habit you can repeat in about fifteen minutes whenever someone offers you an investment, well before any money moves.
Find three investment offers you've seen or been sent. They can be ads on social media, links in messages, posts in chat groups, products a friend has mentioned, or offers from a firm you've heard of. Take screenshots so you have the exact wording, the firm's name, any website or app address and any contact details.
Try to include at least one offer from a firm you think is genuine. Practising on an obvious scam is useful, but the exercise works best when you also see what a firm that passes the checks looks like.
As in module 3, don't reply to anyone or click any sign-up link while you're doing this.
For each offer, make one page or one row with these entries:
In the MAS Financial Institutions Directory, licensed for the activity offered: yes, no, or a similar name only. On the MAS Investor Alert List: yes or no. Website or app address matches the licensed firm's official one: yes, no, or can't tell. Return promised, and whether it's realistic for the risk described. Withdrawal terms: clearly written, vague, or not mentioned. Levers from module 1 you can spot, with the exact words. Decision: proceed to proper research, walk away, or report.
Take the offers one at a time and go through the checks in order.
Start with the directory. Search the Financial Institutions Directory on the MAS website for the firm's exact name. If you find it, note the type of licence and the activities listed, and check that they cover what the offer is asking you to do. A firm licensed only to give advice isn't licensed to hold and manage your money.
Next, check the Investor Alert List for the firm's name and its website address. Remember from lesson 4.2 that not being on the list proves nothing on its own.
Then compare the addresses. Take the website or app the offer pointed you to, and compare it with the official one listed for the firm or found on the firm's real website, which you searched for yourself. Check the spelling letter by letter. If an app is involved, check that it's published by the real firm.
After that, look at the promise. Write down the return the offer claims and how much risk it admits to. High returns with low or no risk is the pattern from lesson 4.1, and it fails this row whoever is offering it. Note what the offer says about getting your money out, how long it takes, and what it costs.
Read the offer once more for the four levers: deadlines, official-sounding names and logos, limited slots, and requests to keep things quiet.
Finally, make a decision. Proceed to proper research means the firm passed the MAS checks and the offer looks plausible, so it's now worth studying the product itself, its fees and its risks, before deciding. Walk away means the offer failed one or more checks. Report means you've found something that should be flagged, such as a clone of a real firm or a fake celebrity ad. You can report scam ads and messages through the ScamShield website, and tell the real firm if its name is being copied.
Here is an illustration of one completed check. The offer and firm are made up.
The offer is a Facebook ad showing a well-known business figure. It says, "Join 3,000 Singaporeans earning 8 percent a month with our AI trading system. Guaranteed capital protection. Registration closes Friday." It links to a website with a name close to that of a real, licensed fund manager.
Directory: the real fund manager is listed and licensed for fund management. The firm in the ad uses almost the same name, but no firm with that exact name is listed. Result: similar name only.
Alert list: the website address from the ad isn't listed. Result: no, which on its own proves nothing.
Address match: the real fund manager's website uses a different domain. The ad's site adds the word "invest" to the real name. Result: no.
Return: 8 percent a month with guaranteed capital is a high return and no risk together. Result: unrealistic.
Withdrawal terms: the site says withdrawals are "processed after verification", with no time frame or fees. Result: vague.
Levers: urgency in "Registration closes Friday", authority in the borrowed face and the cloned firm name, scarcity in the closing date. The crowd of "3,000 Singaporeans" is social proof rather than one of the four levers: it makes the offer feel safe because others seem to have checked it.
Decision: walk away and report. The ad is cloning a real firm and using a famous face, so report it through the ScamShield website, report the ad on Facebook, and let the real fund manager know through the contact details on its official site.
Notice that the first three rows alone were enough to reach a decision. The rest added confidence and gave you something specific to report.
Sometimes an offer clears every check. That's a good result, but it only tells you the firm is real and allowed to offer the product. Proceed to proper research means exactly that: read the product's terms, fees and risks, and decide whether it fits your own goals, without anyone hurrying you.
Your three offers are waiting. Start with the one you're most curious about.
Complete the due diligence sheet for three offers you have seen or been sent and write your decision for each.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).