Too-Good-To-Be-True Investment Ads Raise Serious Red Flags

Advertisements promising to “double your money” with guaranteed returns are flooding public spaces and social media feeds. At first glance, the offer looks irresistible. Double the amount invested who would not be tempted? However, the truth is far more complicated.

An asset can possibly double capital, but the timeline determines the actual return. For instance, an investment of Rs 50,000 that grows to Rs 1 lakh in five years shows an annualised return of roughly 15 per cent. Stretch the period to ten years, and the return falls to around 7 per cent. Only when money doubles in a single year does it truly qualify as a 100 per cent return. And when someone claims to deliver that within months, it should trigger immediate suspicion.

High-risk trading rarely gives such outcomes, but for every success story, countless investors lose everything. Equities, by nature, can be volatile attaching the word “guarantee” is often a hollow lure, sometimes even a cover for Ponzi schemes. It is advisable that investors read the fine print, resist the bait of easy money, and recognise that caution is not optional but extremely crucial.