Sri Lanka Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe says that the majority of people in this country who fall victim to pyramid schemes and similar frauds lack financial literacy.
He made these remarks while participating in a program to educate the public about the new technological services provided by banks and financial institutions registered with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
“Don’t invest in unknown investments – Central Bank Governor”
Speaking further, Central Bank Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe stated:
“Even if you have money in hand, there’s a high risk of misusing it and falling victim to fraud due to a lack of financial literacy and knowledge. We particularly see advertisements on the internet offering discounts and emails with such messages. Currently, a new trend is the widespread advertising collecting money for various cultivation projects. They claim you’ll get huge returns if you invest in growing trees or cultivating fruits, or even growing ‘Wallapatta’ (a type of plant). By exploiting legal loopholes, they fraudulently acquire your money under the guise of investments and then deposit it into pyramid schemes or unauthorized deposits, leading to financial losses. Therefore, whenever you hear such claims, the first question you should ask is how they can generate such high returns from that cultivation.”
“A major reason for some of the negative aspects of digitalization is the lack of financial and economic literacy. When this happens, due to low literacy in financial transactions and economic activities, people can be led into wrong paths. Therefore, along with promoting digitalization, the Central Bank is also implementing a special program on financial literacy.
