Do Buenos Aires expats easily get scammed and gullible?

[earlyretirement]

The guy handed over $30k for a "a promised steady 5% return rate" if that was the case, so many better and safer options. Add that to his contract stating "in case of any dispute, we prefer to litigate in Argentina" should have been a huge red flag.

That clause is very typical if you are dealing with an Argentine entity. I'm assuming the scam involved an equity component + a X% return. No one would be silly enough to risk this for only 5% return. We use the same clause in our contracts because you're dealing with an Argentine entity. That clause is in every contract when doing business in Argentina.

Like anywhere the amount you invest should be proportional to the amount of due diligence you do. I think some people put their guards down if they're in foreign country when the other person sounds similar or convinces them they do business in the former's home country - and therefore believe they share similar values or ways of business etc.

It must be more to the story. No one is going to risk that for a 5% return. The scammer must have promised him some equity stake besides that return. No one is going to be dumb enough to invest for a 5% return. There are money markets that return almost that. Not uncommon to have the clause about the litigation in Argentina. If the supposed company was in Argentina all contracts will have that clause. But if he wired funds to the USA the scammer could probably get held for wire fraud charges. His best chance for funds recovery is not in Argentina but the USA.

But most likely he is out $30k.


It doesn't sound like he did any due diligence at all to be honest.

Correct. It is obvious that NO due diligence was done. Honestly, these days if you are falling for scams like this then you are mostly to blame. It's 2025. There are so many resources to instantly check background, business history, etc. Even simple Google searches should tell you everything you need to know. Any reputable businessperson will have a LinkedIn page. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend doing business with ANYONE in Latin America that doesn't have a long-term verifiable track record.

Your risks are much much higher in Latin America and especially Argentina. There isn't any reason to use anyone new or that doesn't have a track record. Even if someone recommended them, there is no reason to invest with anyone that does not have a trusted and verifiable track record.

When I first started doing business in 2002 in Argentina, it was tough because I had to build up a trusted network of lawyers, accountants, bankers, Escribanos, etc. I spent about 1 YEAR putting together a business plan and constructing a business plan and much of the time was spent on due diligence. I spent thousands of dollars putting advertisements in the English-speaking newspaper at the time - The Buenos Aires Herald paying people $250 USD to fill out surveys and questionnaires and answering questions.

It paid off to do all of that due diligence and I'm proud to say I'm working with the same group of people today 23 years later.

For me when I started up the consulting and investment company it was a tough sell because purchases were all in cash and I didn't have any background in real estate or investments. I co-owned and founded a healthcare company with 2 doctors. I had a lot of business experience but no investment or real estate experience. So when it came time to find investors and get clients I had to use references for high-profile people that I already worked with in Dallas. Fortunately, I was working with billionaires and reputable institutions like the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas. Their Chief Economist wrote my letter of recommendation and so did billionaire Ray Hunt who was a good client of mine.

So I was able to leverage great references to serve for my first few investors. After that it was easy as things snowballed. Then I got in reputable magazines like The Economist and NYT and it was all downhill from there every since.

There is NO reason to invest with unknown entities or individuals in this day and age and it's very easy to verify their track record. NO one has any business investing in Latin America with anyone that isn't held in high regard.

 

[FuturoBA]

It must be more to the story. No one is going to risk that for a 5% return. The scammer must have promised him some equity stake besides that return. No one is going to be dumb enough to invest for a 5% return. There are money markets that return almost that. Not uncommon to have the clause about the litigation in Argentina. If the supposed company was in Argentina all contracts will have that clause. But if he wired funds to the USA the scammer could probably get held for wire fraud charges. His best chance for funds recovery is not in Argentina but the USA.

But most likely he is out $30k.


It doesn't sound like he did any due diligence at all to be honest.

That part makes sense, initially I thought it was an American company, but it does look like it was an Argentinian one w the funds being sent to the US.

That clause is very typical if you are dealing with an Argentine entity. I'm assuming the scam involved an equity component + a X% return. No one would be silly enough to risk this for only 5% return. We use the same clause in our contracts because you're dealing with an Argentine entity. That clause is in every contract when doing business in Argentina.



Correct. It is obvious that NO due diligence was done. Honestly, these days if you are falling for scams like this then you are mostly to blame. It's 2025. There are so many resources to instantly check background, business history, etc. Even simple Google searches should tell you everything you need to know. Any reputable businessperson will have a LinkedIn page. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend doing business with ANYONE in Latin America that doesn't have a long-term verifiable track record.

Your risks are much much higher in Latin America and especially Argentina. There isn't any reason to use anyone new or that doesn't have a track record. Even if someone recommended them, there is no reason to invest with anyone that does not have a trusted and verifiable track record.

When I first started doing business in 2002 in Argentina, it was tough because I had to build up a trusted network of lawyers, accountants, bankers, Escribanos, etc. I spent about 1 hour putting together a business plan and constructing a business plan and much of the time was spent on due diligence. I spent thousands of dollars putting advertisements in the English-speaking newspaper at the time - The Buenos Aires Herald paying people $250 USD to fill out surveys and questionnaires and answering questions.

It paid off to do all of that due diligence and I'm proud to say I'm working with the same group of people today 23 years later.

For me when I started up the consulting and investment company it was a tough sell because purchases were all in cash and I didn't have any background in real estate or investments. I co-owned and founded a healthcare company with 2 doctors. I had a lot of business experience but no investment or real estate experience. So when it came time to find investors and get clients I had to use references for high-profile people that I already worked with in Dallas. Fortunately, I was working with billionaires and reputable institutions like the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas. Their Chief Economist wrote my letter of recommendation and so did billionaire Ray Hunt who was a good client of mine.

So I was able to leverage great references to serve for my first few investors. After that it was easy as things snowballed. Then I got in reputable magazines like The Economist and NYT and it was all downhill from there every since.

There is NO reason to invest with unknown entities or individuals in this day and age and it's very easy to verify their track record. NO one has any business investing in Latin America with anyone that isn't held in high regard.

That's so cool how you got started and how you found your network. IIRC I remember reading how from those surveyed, you were able to find out a consistent set of names of who were reputable and could be trusted and thus build your network.

 

[Betsy Ross]

That clause is very typical if you are dealing with an Argentine entity. I'm assuming the scam involved an equity component + a X% return. No one would be silly enough to risk this for only 5% return. We use the same clause in our contracts because you're dealing with an Argentine entity. That clause is in every contract when doing business in Argentina.



Correct. It is obvious that NO due diligence was done. Honestly, these days if you are falling for scams like this then you are mostly to blame. It's 2025. There are so many resources to instantly check background, business history, etc. Even simple Google searches should tell you everything you need to know. Any reputable businessperson will have a LinkedIn page. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend doing business with ANYONE in Latin America that doesn't have a long-term verifiable track record.

Your risks are much much higher in Latin America and especially Argentina. There isn't any reason to use anyone new or that doesn't have a track record. Even if someone recommended them, there is no reason to invest with anyone that does not have a trusted and verifiable track record.

When I first started doing business in 2002 in Argentina, it was tough because I had to build up a trusted network of lawyers, accountants, bankers, Escribanos, etc. I spent about 1 YEAR putting together a business plan and constructing a business plan and much of the time was spent on due diligence. I spent thousands of dollars putting advertisements in the English-speaking newspaper at the time - The Buenos Aires Herald paying people $250 USD to fill out surveys and questionnaires and answering questions.

It paid off to do all of that due diligence and I'm proud to say I'm working with the same group of people today 23 years later.

For me when I started up the consulting and investment company it was a tough sell because purchases were all in cash and I didn't have any background in real estate or investments. I co-owned and founded a healthcare company with 2 doctors. I had a lot of business experience but no investment or real estate experience. So when it came time to find investors and get clients I had to use references for high-profile people that I already worked with in Dallas. Fortunately, I was working with billionaires and reputable institutions like the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas. Their Chief Economist wrote my letter of recommendation and so did billionaire Ray Hunt who was a good client of mine.

So I was able to leverage great references to serve for my first few investors. After that it was easy as things snowballed. Then I got in reputable magazines like The Economist and NYT and it was all downhill from there every since.

There is NO reason to invest with unknown entities or individuals in this day and age and it's very easy to verify their track record. NO one has any business investing in Latin America with anyone that isn't held in high regard.

Wow that is very interesting how you started @earlyretirement. I was wondering how an American could build up such a successful company. I remember using your company on my first trip to Buenos Aires. I rented an apartment on Las Heras from your company and then each trip I would use you guys.

Interesting how you leveraged your clients in Dallas to build up in Argentina. Very interesting!

You make a good point about having to be careful in Argentina. I can't understand why anyone would use any professional that doesn't have a good reputation but it seems like many foreigners just go with who the realtor recommends which might not always work out.

 

[Larry]

That part makes sense, initially I thought it was an American company, but it does look like it was an Argentinian one w the funds being sent to the US.

That's so cool how you got started and how you found your network. IIRC I remember reading how from those surveyed, you were able to find out a consistent set of names of who were reputable and could be trusted and thus build your network.

Good luck things working out in the Argentine court system! When I bought my apartment I did some renovations and used an architect that my realtor recommended. Big mistake! He used different materials that I did not pick out. He wouldn't change it. I took legal action but never got resolved. Judges here are all corrupt.

 

[James Bond]

Like anywhere the amount you invest should be proportional to the amount of due diligence you do. I think some people put their guards down if they're in foreign country when the other person sounds similar or convinces them they do business in the former's home country - and therefore believe they share similar values or ways of business etc.

I have never understood this but I saw it all the time in BA when I lived there. I would have some mates from the UK that came here and they were actually very smart people. They would not act this way back home but for some reason here they let their guard down which makes no sense. I had to talk some mates out of some stupid things here. Same thing in Colombia where one of my mates lives. He met a girl and she wanted him to invest in a business. The girl wasn't exactly any genius. Made zero sense at all.

It paid off to do all of that due diligence and I'm proud to say I'm working with the same group of people today 23 years later.

That is how everyone successful in Argentina works. Just sticking to dealing with the same people. I had a mate that just used some new cueva even though I gave him the Whatsapp of one of my trusted people I worked with to send money in. He met some tourist that used someone else. He used this person because it was 0.25% less! Well he just told me he sent $3,000 dollars to them and they never responded. People use your brains.

There is NO reason to invest with unknown entities or individuals in this day and age and it's very easy to verify their track record. NO one has any business investing in Latin America with anyone that isn't held in high regard.

Exactly! People act like we are in the stone age. Now it is very easy to find businesses that have a good reputation and been around a while.