My friend's getting scammed

[mcdaddy]

Hey guys.

I need your help. My friend's getting scammed and I don't know how to help him. He talked to this guy who talked him into this pyramid scam. Essentially, the scam works like this. He buys stuff online at this website. The website gives a small percentage back to him but more to the person above him in the pyramid. He doesn't want to believe me that this is a pyramid scam.

Unfortunately, I don't know enough about scams, etc, to speak intelligently as to why this is a bad idea. I just have a really bad feeling about it. Isn't that illegal?

Help!

 

[Soilwork]

It is.

Because before anyone past a certain level can make money, it would require more people than the world has.

A fool and his money....

 

[valis23]

Generally, yes it's illegal. Specifically -who knows? I don't know if anyone's tested an Internet-based pyramid scheme in the courts. It might matter where the sites are located, where the payments are made from/to, etc.

My whole family got sucked into Amway when I was a kid. It's a pyramid scheme aimed at Christians. I know how hopless you feel, but some people have to get burned to understand the heat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ponzi
The sections about half-way down starting with the Ponzi Scheme make an interesting read. The crux of any of these things is that they only work while growing. If you stop recruiting, you start losing money.

 

[cocktales]

McD:

It's very simple....

Not only is your friend getting scammed, he's also involved in breaking the law, for Pyramids are illegal!

......and, if this sale(s) crosses either state lines or international boundaries, the person's involved can be into mucho trouble with the FBI, etc....

I would tell your friend to STOP if he's just started; but if he has already purchased "things", he should try and dissolve his holdings and end the relationship NOW!

Cut and run, to end his loses and liability with the scammers NOW!

As thier friend, it's your responsibility to convince them to STOP!

Good luck!

 

[Eternaldarkness]

dude, your friend is in for some serious damage. Try your best to convince him to stop. Things they'll do for money. It will be a lesson learned a very hard way.

 

[Jeimuzu]

Geez, with all the warnings about internet scamming and how widespread it is, people still fall in headfirst.

Tell him he's a moron.

 

[frankfrank]

It is.

Because before anyone past a certain level can make money, it would require more people than the world has.

A fool and his money....

And by the time any "ordinary" people find out about these arrangements, that level has ALREADY BEEN REACHED. Before it reaches that saturation label, there IS good money to be made, but why would somebody just offer to give the secret away via spam email (or whatever method)? They can offer it to you and me after they've finished building the scam into a business which employs whatever small number of people can make money on it...and the new people who are added, by and large, will not make money.

Until some such arrangement reaches that tipping point (where the supply of sellers overruns the demand for that service or product), these people aren't just gonna give it away to any old strangers. They may share the "high atop the pyramid" portion of the scheme with their FRIENDS, but once they know they can keep the money coming in for THEMSELVES via adding more [STRIKE]sucke[/STRIKE] clients, they'll gladly offer the information and whatever "kit" is included. There will probably be a few clients they'll add who are innovative or ingenious enough to make money, but those are the rare exceptions.

Furthermore, since these ARE illegal, they are most surely UNREGULATED, and many of these pyramid schemes have been known to collect the monies and never even send the supplies or the kits, and they run off and retire to Montevideo in luxury.

You can trust us all on this...

 

[rareboy]

God...some people really are born to be suckers.

 

[theblackajah]

If he's that stupid, he deserves to be scammed. I suggest letting him learn the hard way.

 

[G-Lexington]

So, how does this work, exactly? If he convinces X other people to join in, does he move one step up the pyramid?

I hope he likes the stuff he's buying.

Lex

 

[gsdx]

Geez, with all the warnings about internet scamming and how widespread it is, people still fall in headfirst.

Tell him he's a moron.

Pyramid schemes have been around for decades, and people join them because they're told that they are going to get rich. Unfortunately, you have to find a whole lot of people to do the work for you before you start getting rich. Most people don't have enough friends to even make pocket change let alone a wage they can actually live on.

 

[G-Lexington]

The basic idea of a pyramid scheme is the search for enough people stupider than you to pay your way through it. Of course, in order to get in on it, you have to be one of those stupider people who signs on.

Lex

 

[1gayguy]

It isn't Market America is it?
Me and the bfhad a go round about joining this "group". To get really going in this enterprise we needed to have 4 people willing to come on board with us. Once reached a certain amount of "bvp's" you started earing cash. When you reach a certain amount of bvp after you start earning cash your bvps get reset and then you start over again.
While all this was going on, your asked to bring new people into the fold. GEt them using the products, buying from you, staying in personal contact with them, to get them to buy more products and eventually recruit them into your fold.
Supposedly they claim the difference between them and a pyramid is some one can drop out and you don't lose that income.

I had two questions I wanted answered. The first was " What was the dollar equivilent to bvp's? I equated it to earning a commission. You bring in x amount of $'s and in return yoou get Y% of those dollars. No one could answer that question.
The next question was "If someone from my tree drops outand no longer buys product, how do I not lose money? Again those trying to recruit us danced around and around this.
The other half was all set to sign on and name names of those he wanted to bring along.
I told him that if it was really legit, they'd be able to answer those questions.
It is still a little sore spot between us.

Get your friend to run away. They will invite him to a meeting. Everyone will be overly enthusiastic over the products and how much they can profit and how good they can feel about themselves that they're doing something so good not just for them but those they turn onto these products. And wouldn't you want to earn tens of thousands of dollars every month by doing basically nothing.

If it sounds to good to be true it usually is.

 

[mcdaddy]

My friend's getting scammed by something called "quixtar." I googled it and discovered this:

"Company officials confirmed in early June that, over the coming 18 to 24 months, the Quixtar name will be disolved and the Amway name will be revived in North America, reuniting it with its sister Amway organizations around the globe"

Anyone have any advice as to how to talk him out of this? Last time I talked to him, he told me I sounded "condesending." I don't mean to be an asshole, I just don't want him to get burned...

 

[RicanDAB]

Quixtar is Amway. I almost got suckered into that once - it's actually scary - those people act like they are part of a religious cult or something.

You know what? You won't be able to just talk him out of it. He's so engrossed with the whole idea and the people he is now involved with are very good at keeping him in the mix and unfortunately he's going to have to learn this the hard way. The only thing you could do is let him know that you've done your best to convince him that this is a bad idea, and when he wakes up from his delusions of wealth he will remember that you tried to tell him so.

 

[maxpowr9]

This reminds me of those commericals for websites that people say they make like $5k a month working part time. I'm sorry but NOBODY makes that kind of money working part time. Not even investors.

Sometimes it takes a hard fall for people to learn a lesson. Everyone falls it's just a matter of how far.

 

[JASON0980]

i used to be in Quickstar. thats pretty much how it is set up. it can work and you can get rich. but it takes a lot of time and screwing people over. most of the people who join them just get tired of it before they get to deep. and hopefully before they lose to much money. i would say you are going to have to let him learn on his own. if i is quickstar, then he could just loose $200 or he could become rich. the man who created it was named the most inspirational man in america a few years back. i can't remember who by though. but yea the people are freaky and they do have a whole set of "lifestyle suggestions"