International Banking Group's ultra-high-interest claims can't be verified
By Mc Nelly Torres
ConsumerAffairs.com
Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved
By Mc Nelly Torres
ConsumerAffairs.com
Copyright © 2009 All Rights Reserved
November 2, 2009
An attractive brochure express-mailed by the International Banking Group to seniors living in affluent areas claims the company's certificates of deposit (CD’s) earn above average interest rates.
IBG lists 12 U.S. banks and several international institutions as the banks that supposedly issue the high-interest CDs, and claims that since its retail division was founded in 2008, the company has serviced over 35,000 new accounts worldwide.
But five of the seven banks contacted by ConsumerAffairs.com said they have never heard of IBG and at least one of them is in the process of seeking legal action because they claim that IBG uses their logo without permission. And state officials in California, where the company claims to have a Beverly Hills office, opened an inquiry after ConsumerAffairs.com asked questions about the registration requirements for corporations operating in the state.
“It looks like they [IBG] should be registered and that would make them in violation of the law,” said Mark Leyes, a spokesman for the California Department of Corporations. “Because we are aware of it, we are looking into the matter.”
Consumers in California and Florida have complained that IBG staff is making cold calls to seniors living in exclusive retirement communities, making sales pitches on the phone before mailing its brochure overnight.
Disappearing act
IBG denies any wrongdoing but recently took down its Web site.
Seniors at risk
In a volatile economy, small investors, including seniors, are more likely to fall victims to risky investments, financial scams and unscrupulous financial brokers, experts say. Elder financial abuse cost older Americans more than $2.6 billion annually, according to a 2009 report by Metlife Mature Market Institute.
Abridged
SOURCE: Consumers Affairs.Com
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