Of AB Fund and eBarrel etc., etc …

Ring a bell?

It was 2006. A year of frenzied investments. Some called it get-rich-quick-schemes. It depends on which side you are. My friends  and I called it internet investment schemes.

I was introduced to the schemes quite late. So I pursued them with gusto.

My wife wanted a slice of the fun but she was not savvy internet. She appointed me as a caretaker. She withdrew quite a substantial sum from her ASB. Initially I was scared. She was persistent. And she was game.

Me? I have just received my VSS money. Year before Media Prima took over NTV7. I took the VSS offer.

Net-investment was something new to me. I was scared. Nevertheless I committed to a certain amount that I felt safe.

The scheme is simple. The moment you registered you forfeited your capital. After 30 days you regained your capital. The 31st day onward you reap your profit, daily!

My wife standing order was simple. Every week transfer whatever sum to her account! Yes. That was what I did; without fail.

As for me? By the 60th day I was reinvesting my profits to other schemes!

My wife was jealous and she wanted to withdraw more money to invest in other schemes. Knowing the nature of the volatility of the investment I advised her  to wait until the present investment reached its stipulated time-frame that is 100 days, then start anew. She listened to my advice.

Things were getting sticky. Some jealous quarters started to harp that get-rich-schemes are haram! What about toto? 4 Digits? Horse racing? Bursa saham? All these are get-rich-schemes. Money makes money. Muslims and non-Muslims are alike. Anything that spells money is  fair game. Haram  or not depends on which side you are standing. Like money politics aka as corruption.  It’s all about where you stand including the fatwas which are supposed to be fair.

Then the government put a stop to it.

It was the 80+ days. My wife made huge profits. She was all smiles.

My money was stranded somewhere in the realms of the cyber space.

To celebrate her spoils we went for a week holidays in Pulau Langkawi, all expenses were taken care off.

Whenever this misadventure crosses my mind I’ll ask this question, “Why didn’t I listen to my own advice?”