Almasa Alunni – Do Your Due Diligence When Someone Asks to Borrow Money

May 2, 2021

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BIO: Almasa Alunni is a visionary global citizen, a mentor, and a seasoned consultant with a curious mind, acting as the pivotal trait d’union to align strategic alliances and cultures.

STORY: Almasa moved to Dubai, where she met a Filipino lady who became a very close friend. One day the lady borrowed a substantial amount of money which Almasa gave her without any questions. She trusted her as a friend. It turned out the lady was a con artist and never paid Almasa her money back.

LEARNING: Do your due diligence before lending anyone your money, including friends. It’s better to give than to lend, but do not give what you cannot afford to lose.

“Money comes and goes. But if you lose a friend, you lose a treasure.”

Almasa Alunni

Guest profile

Almasa Alunni is a visionary global citizen, a mentor, and a seasoned consultant with a curious mind, acting as the pivotal trait d’union to align strategic alliances and cultures.

She has a solid networking portfolio of HNWI, key players & decision-makers built over four decades of professional experience in the Luxury Lifestyle, Mega Yachts industry, Communication & Media environment.

Almasa is a multilingual elite PR advisor in brand strategy where she can connect the dots both backward and forwards. She has a real talent for human cross-cultural gathering and great knowledge of the Middle East and North Africa region’s social and economic environment.

She was appointed as UAE Humanitarian Global Goodwill Ambassador in 2018.

Worst investment ever

When Almasa moved to Dubai, she met a Filipino lady, a Catholic like her, and became close friends quickly. They become as close as a family, always celebrating stuff like Christmas together.

Helping a sister out

The Filipino lady was almost 70 years old but quite a hard worker, as Almasa thought. The lady told Almasa that she was engaged in a new business venture and needed some financial assistance.

Being the kind and generous person Almasa is, she agreed to give her the money. She transferred a considerable sum of money, the equivalent of two years of her living expenses, by bank transfer, no questions asked.

Turns out it was a scam

Months passed without Almasa getting any money back as promised. After chasing after her friend for months, she reimbursed her partially and at a plodding pace. Almasa decided to take action and went to the police station. Here, she found out that the lady had four other cases of fraud. It turns out she was a professional con artist who knows precisely how to scam people.

Abuse of trust

While losing the money was painful, what hurt Almasa most was how her friend abused their friendship and her trust. Because money comes and goes, but losing a friend is like losing a treasure.

Lessons learned

Do not give more than you can afford to lose

It is always safer to give and not expect anything in return. But even as you give, always give what you can afford to lose.

Andrew’s takeaways

Instead of lending a lot, give a little

If you are not willing to lend anyone your money, simply give the little that you can as a gift instead of lending them large amounts of money that might leave you in debt.

Ask for collateral in exchange for a loan

Before you lend money, ask the person to give you some collateral, such as a deed to a piece of land or a car deed; if they do not pay, you will have a way to recover your money.

When you do good, good will always come back to you

Life is not always a direct relationship. When you do good for someone, it does not necessarily mean that person will do good for you. But if you do good in life and to the universe, that favor eventually comes back to you.

Actionable advice

Do your due diligence before you lend anyone money, even your friends. Do not get trapped in those so-called friendships.

No. 1 goal for the next 12 months

Almasa’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to bring her dream project off the ground. Almasa is working on her TV channel focusing on culture. She is also working on a line of jewelry based on an interfaith harmony project.