Cash Con Tricksters Aren’t All Criminals – Read This Cautionary Tale
Cunning Cash Con Tricksters have their hands on your hard earned money – and it’s legal.
Have you watched The Tinder Swindler on Netflix or read the BBC article?
I confess the film was a painful trigger for me. That’s because today I know how much I lost by not controlling my own money from an early age.
Meet Cash Con
I was young, naïve and impressionable when I first got involved with a bank I’ll call Cash Con. Only decades later could see the damage done by reliance on a false friendship. When the day dawned that I saw what an idiot I’d been, I cried tears into an empty purse. “Why did no one warn me?” I wailed.
To be fair, they had tried. I recall a few words of advice over the years. But I was so wrapped up with Cash Con, I simply wouldn’t listen.
Cash Con. Let me describe him. He was smart, intelligent, friendly and so giving. A seducer from the start. It began with a ‘friendly’ bank account, set up by a well-meaning aunt. It came with an alluring free gift, of course. A magnificent purple piggy bank – and with the first drop of a fifty pence piece into its slot, I was hooked. Pocket money went in (chink!) and then I’d take it out (plop!) and spend it.
As I grew up, the purple pig gathered dust. But my trusted Cash Con had new tricks to ‘help and support’: a nifty card to make shopping ‘so easy!’, and a lovely loan to cover my education. When I was earning (and receiving wads of horrible bills) Cash Con kindly took my wages and without me lifting a finger would divvy it up between the people I needed to pay. What a relief! One day a friend admitted that my lovely Cash Con had refused her an account (he said she hadn’t started early enough with him…) and I even felt a little smug. Cash Con, I thought, was mine.
A Lost Opportunity
What a fool! But in my defence, Cash Con sent such reassuring messages: I will always be here for you. I am available. I cost you nothing! Whenever you need me … I am here.
Then one day I spotted a fun and groovy advert for a new bank. What if I had settled too soon? I was curious. I went online to check it out on one of those comparison sites. Looking back, it was one occasion when someone might have actually stopped the abuse! But instead I was reassured. New Bank wasn’t special, and my Cash Con was even rated quite well. The comparison site also ran checks and ensured that any provider with a profile met some minimum standards. I was soooo grateful. After all, no one wants to end up with a rogue, do they? In fact I even discovered that I had a relationship guarantee (should Cash Con do a ‘disappearing act’) which made me feel more secure than ever. Awesome! A no-brainer! Of course I stuck with Cash Con (better the devil you know…) life sped by… and then we were celebrating our silver anniversary.
WOW – how did that happen?
Sure, a few things changed over the years, but somehow we just adapted to each other. When I started to earn more and needed to stash my spare money, Cash Con was there with a savings account that paid a bit of interest. I thought that was fantastic. I didn’t understand that I was being naïve. That my earnings could have been doing so much more! I believed that everything my Cash Con partner did for me was out of the goodness of his heart! He never charged me a penny for the effort of running my current account (so generous, so supportive) and now he was actually going to pay me. As far as I was concerned, we had entered a cosy, steady phase of our relationship.
Anna Explains That Interest Isn’t Enough
Looking back, had I been lazy and stupid? Or had Cash Con just been brilliant at making me feel comfortable that I was doing the right thing? I wasn’t ever unhappy. I just accepted the ‘abuse’ and ‘neglect’ believing I deserved and could expect nothing more. It wasn’t until I had a coffee with a friend (let’s call her Anna) and she told me about how rewarding and lucrative her relationship was, that I truly questioned mine.
Anna had almost the same job as I did, and had been working the same number of years. Yet she had worked out that with a bit of effort she could get four times the amount I was getting out of my earnings. FOUR TIMES! I started to think about how much more I would have if I had been doing it her way for the last 10 years. Suddenly I was furious. Rigid with rage. Why hadn’t I known it was possible? I had missed out on tens of thousands of pounds, and felt physically sick when I realised the magnitude of my mistake.
Anna introduced me to her financial matchmaking partner, a trained and qualified woman, and we talked about what I needed in my life. She listened, and we worked out what I wanted and deserved; what I needed to feel safe and secure in the future; and eventually she was able to introduce me to the new love of my life – an investment account.
Life After Cash Con: Make The Most Of Your Money
I left Cash Con, of course. He still writes me letters but it’s over. I get much better rewards from my relationship with my new savings provider, but it makes me weep when I calculate what I’ve missed out on. I am trying to move on from the regret, but admit I am still feeling cheated and let down. I know that tens of thousands of pounds could be mine today if I’d acted earlier.
Cash Con pretended to be my protector and my security, while all the time secretly transferring my wealth to his mates. And who were they? The bank’s shareholders. Despite what Cash Con implied, I wasn’t the most important person in the relationship. So I implore you now – check out all your options and don’t settle for being second best – because first and foremost, every bank is obligated to their shareholders. Not you.
I have learnt since that a load of laws and regulations had to be created to protect customers from abuse by powerful and seductive predators like Cash Con. I didn’t realise that at the time, but I am sharing it now. I consider myself a survivor and I write this in the hope that other women will make changes and get as much as possible (which is what they deserve and should expect) from their savings.
Act Today
If this message has touched a nerve, please use the helpline number 01227 931545 or click this link https://womens-wealth.co.uk/book-appointment/ to book to an appointment with the team @ Women’s Wealth. They have helped many women to a brighter and more rewarding relationships with their savings – let Women’s Wealth be your Best Financial Friend (BFF).
Women’s Wealth Financial Take-aways
- Your savings in a bank account are protected by FSCS up to £85,000
- The money you invest in the first 15 years of your working life earns more for you than the money you earn later
- Banks invest the money you deposit in long term accounts that earn more than the interest they pay you on a savings account