Financial Services (scam or legit) (Yangon)

I don't want to be a scare monger or undermine particular companies... But I think we should get wise to this before anyone gets bitten hard (not just mosquitoes!).

I have received two calls (cold contact) from Thailand offering "Financial Services". I am offered to meet the director who is visiting Yangon next week. The website looks semiprofessional.

The email I receive to confirm the appointment comes from a hotmail address.

I google the company and all I get is a handful of sites that have the same set credentials about the company and no independent commentary. The ISP is in California which hosts over 90,000 websites (not an indication of well off company). other registered websites on this server suggest non-legitimate companies are also registered there. A similar site to that of the company (same basic name) was due for deletion 2years ago, which I don't see as a good sign).

The combination of hotmail address contact, no reviews of the service from other sites on the internet, no mention of the institution except on directories, and general caution, lead me to turn down the meeting.

I have tried to open accounts with off-shore banks before I left. The financial sanctions on Myanmar are still in place here in the EU and US. It is not easy to do given these sanctions. My point is that one should be wary of organisations saying they can invest money when most large banks will not provide financial services even if you're even temporarily living in Myanmar.

I can name names but would prefer not to in this instance as my fears over this company remain unsubstantiated. I am not able to recommend anyone who will invest money while you live here but my advice would be to set something up well before arriving here!

I hope this is useful.