Sales calls offering unsolicited loan services come at an alarming frequency in our daily life; some of them unscrupulously beguiling and deceitful. But there is actually no lack of the ways and means to resist and repudiate such calls.
The current short video series, a joint production between the Consumer Council and the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB), have entered its grand finale, with the launch of the third and final episode “NO to Loan Temptation – The Cold Calls” yesterday (November 23). Through a group of “Key Opinion Leaders (KOL)” of young university students, in a humorous and interesting setting, they proffer advice to their contemporaries on how best to ward off the calls and to stay alert to avoid falling prey of such sugarcoated traps. The 3 ploys or tricks are to play it cool feigning “Asking for the Moon?”, “The Counter Sales Offers”, and “Being Sherlock Holmes”.
Play it Cool to Repudiate Unsolicited Loan Calls
To drive home the message, Ms Gilly WONG Fung-han, Chief Executive, Consumer Council, joined hands with celebrities – Mr SHIH Wing-ching JP, Dr Jason CHAN Kai-yue JP, Ms Akina FONG and Ms Joey WONG (JW) – in supporting the call in the final video episode: “Play it Cool – Say NO to Loan Calls”. The aim is further the awareness of young adults against loan temptation and the traps by money lending intermediaries.
The video series will be available for screening on CHOICE Facebook and the Council website between November 24 and 27 at http://bit.ly/2hMs1dG. Stay tuned!
To arouse interest and creativity, the Council is inviting members of the public to share their own views and experience to “Say NO to Loan Calls”. Submission of entries can come in any form of videos, images or texts for upload on CHOICE Facebook during November 24 to 30. Participants may have the opportunity to win a 3-month free subscription of eCHOICE Magazine or other gifts.
The joint FSTB and the Council video series are shown on social media platforms. The first two videos: “Scary Loan Horror – Not for the Fainthearted” and “Sugarcoated Loan Trap – Money Lending Intermediary” were launched on November 2 and 14 respectively.