(CGN) Capital Growth Network

BUYING ONLINE The internet is a great way to buy and sell new or second hand goods. But you should look out for fake adverts on social media or trading websites. WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR Bad reviews - Lots of good reviews from different buyers are better than mixed, bad or no reviews at all. Amazing deals - If prices on a site are a lot lower than other sellers, it could be a scam. Requests for advance payments - If an item is large and expensive, like a car, fraudsters may invite you to view then ask you to pay before you can pick it up. Once they have your money they'll disappear. Don’t pay until they hand the item over to you. Odd ways of paying - A fake site may ask you to pay by direct bank or wire transfer. These are hard to trace. If things go wrong, you may not get your money back. WHAT YOU CAN DO Take your time - Make sure an offer is genuine before you choose to buy. Ask the seller questions - If a seller can't tell you any details about the goods or tries to ...

Are you looking for some smart ways to save? these money saving tips should help you start to build up a handy nest egg. Create a budget by adding up your monthly spend on essentials like rent, utility bills, food shopping and car costs, to see if you have any spare money that could be moved into a savings account Start saving with a basic savings account. Saving even a small amount will give you peace of mind and get you into the savings habit (eg. Nationwide Flex-Basic)  If you have more money available, consider a higher-interest account or invest in an ISA. If you already have an ISA, maximise your allowance for this year Start long-term savings as soon as you can. Speak to your employer about possible pension schemes to join If you get a windfall of money, think about putting a percentage of it into your savings. Make saving money a habit Saving money doesn’t have to be a chore. There are some easy ways you can get into the habit of saving money on a regular basis....

With RMB bank announcing it’s withdrawal from services to crypto asset company bank accounts, what’s the contingency should this move by one bank snowball into a move by more. One bank should not be a cause  for concern, it should rather serve as an indicator as to how the financial climate may be changing. Without centralized banks, how can an Exchange, exchange virtual currency for legal tender?  If you have say £500,000.00 worth of bitcoin in your wallet, without a centralized bank: 1.   How does one withdraw the funds? 2.   If the resource that backs the cryptocurrency is actually legal tender, how then will the exchange pay you without access to cash? 3.   The £500,000.00 is worthless unless you can trade   peer to peer. Most commercial stores do not accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment due to the risks and volatility involved. Example, There is only one GBP and   one USD however, there are many cryptocurrencies. ...

Wangiri call scams are calls from international numbers you don’t recognise and it’s a scam that could leave you seriously out of pocket. WHAT IS A WANGIRI SCAM? The word ‘Wangiri’ is Japanese and means  ‘one ring and drop’. It’s basically what’s known in the UK, as a ‘drop call’. Calls usually cut off just as the phone rings, leaving a missed call notification from an unfamiliar number with the intention of playing on your curiosity. If you do happen to take the bait, you’ll be routed to an expensive, premium rate service. Phone companies have taken the initiative to invest in intelligence systems to proactively screen incoming calls for fraudulent numbers and are automatically blocking numbers known to be used for fraud. HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF? If you get an unexpected call from an unknown, international or unusual number, here are some simple steps that you can take to protect yourself from Wangiri fraud: 1.     Don’t answer any unexpected ...

In an age of ever-increasing technological innovation, I find myself looking back in time and remembering how the future was depicted in the past. Although the world as we “see it” in 2019 didn’t quite turn out to be a 100% match to its 1985 futuristic depictions, I can’t help but notice the similarities. It’s as though the future was being planned ahead Growing up in the 70’s/80’s, I remember watching cartoons such as the Jetsons (Fig 1.0). This show was produced in the 1960’s and then again in the 80’s and depicted what life would be like in the future where robots would be the norm and everyday appliances and infrastructure would be automated. Even a meal would be in the form of a pill.   Fig 1.0 image from google labelled for reuse. Also, movies like Demolition Man (credit system), Blade Runner (video calling), The Terminator (Robots & Drones), Back to the Future 2 (Google Glass) and more all exhibited signs of the world as we know it today. Is this just a...