One such scam that has affected many Papua New Guineans is the Golden Sun scam.

This scam involved watching and rating 15 seconds of film for which the company promised to pay its ‘employees’.

To join, people had to pay a fee, and then they were instructed to recruit more people to increase their chances of earning recurring commissions.

The company promised that once a person joined, they would become an ‘employee’.

I, too, fell for this scam and paid the $40 fee to join the E level. I recruited more people using my social media following and made over $2,000 in three months.

However, I chose to ignore the numerous warning signs, including the use of aliases by regional managers, the poor command of English, the lack of a customer service centre, no physical office, and web-based email addresses.

I continued to promote the scam and recruit more people, even though my younger brother, Michael Kabuni, and other government officials and leading journalists warned me about the swindle.

It wasn’t until my last withdrawal was delayed for almost three weeks that I knew the end was near for Golden Sun.

Fortunately, my friends and I received our return on investments, but the guilt of promoting the scam still lingers with me. I apologise to those who lost their money through my referral link.

Scams like Golden Sun are not the only ones that have affected PNG. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in scams across the country.

Scammers have been targeting vulnerable individuals who are struggling to make ends meet, with fake job advertisements, fraudulent loan schemes, and online investment programs.

It is crucial to be cautious and informed when it comes to investing in any program or scheme.

Scams can happen to anyone, regardless of their education or socio-economic status.

We must continue to educate ourselves and others about the dangers of scams, especially during these challenging times.

If you come across any investment program or scheme that promises easy money, take the time to do your research.

Look for reviews online, and talk to people who have had experience with the program.

Be wary of programs that require you to pay a fee to join, and be especially cautious if the company promises you large returns in a short amount of time.

In conclusion, let us learn from our mistakes and make sure we do not fall prey to these scams again.

We must continue to educate ourselves and others about the dangers of scams and be cautious when investing our hard-earned money.

By doing so, we can protect ourselves and our loved ones from falling victim to these fraudulent schemes.

Note from Michael Kabuni of Academia Nomad

We warned earlier that Golden Sun was a scam. It has collapsed within the month since then.

Whilst we agree that scammers are targeting the vulnerable, especially following the Covid-19 pandemic, Papua New Guineans could have avoided this scam.

Scams are not new in PNG, and there’s an established pattern: no services or products offered, quick money, network marketing, etc. We hope that Papua New Guineans learn from this experience.

You can link here to Eddie Kabuni’s blog, ‘Mindblown: a blog about philosophy’