Another Pyramid Con

scamreporter_2

Dear me I didn't think this was still going or with all the publicity that there was any one still out there stupid enough to fall for one of these scams....

Basically, as others have said it is a criminal offence to run one of these schemes or to attempt to recuit others. I have some very simple graphics and maths to explain it to even the most gifted member of MENSA.

I know of GPs, teachers ( even a maths teacher ) who have taken part or run these scams.

i have contacts in the local and national press and also in the Trading Standards who are more than willing to expose and asist in the prosecution of the individual running these schemes......

If anyone wants any help in bringing them down let me know, there are now international organisations to assist with the process.

CONS SIMPLE AS

myrnahaz

The sad fact is that these people also use youngsters to help fund their scams. My teenaged son asked if he could club together with his mates to 'invest' in one that was being run by his friend's Aunt; he said he 'only' had to recruit a few other pepople to the scheme and he'd have a fortune. I managed to convince him how dreadful it actually was, but he still felt really hard done by.
His mates went on to 'invest' and boasted about their swag (about £3,000 at the first round) but I don't know what happened after that - it had hit the papers by then and it all went quiet.
Incidentally, the 'Aunt' is a company accountant.

trisontana

myrnahaz wrote: »

Incidentally, the 'Aunt' is a company accountant.

That Aunt didn't work for Bradford & Bingley or Northern Rock by any chance did she? Because they seemed to have used the same sort of creative accounting that these pyramid scams use.

It is surprising how many "educated" people such as accountants, teachers and members of various professions get suckered into these schemes. I thought the standards of higher education were better than this !

Merlina

Hello again. I was being a tad ironic. I know the Mathematics. Here they are: If eight people invest £3,000 each in a scheme and then progress through the levels of the pyramid, they will each expect to receive £24,000 when they reach the final top. For each of those eight people to receive that amount, it will be necessary for 64 people to have each invested £3000.
Each of those 64 investors will be expecting to collect their £24,000, but that would mean that 512 people would have to have invested. Subsequent investors would need 4,096 participants, then 32,768 participants, then 262,144 participants and so on. In simple terms, each participant needs another eight investors in the scheme to get their money back and make a return. It is inevitable the scheme will dry up, with the loss of your 'investment' . This is actually from the Government website which I looked up before posting the first message. What I was trying to get across was that these people can appeal to the emotional side of those they are trying to recruit. For instance. You may eat some chocolate - know you need to lose weight - but still you eat it. Why? Well it just tastes so good and you reason that it contains antioxidants (if it has a high enough Cocoa content) so it's good for you, conveniently forgetting all about the sugar and fat. Well that's exactly how these schemes work. They appeal to the emotional nature of people not their logical side. They conveniently avoid that and when you confront them you are indeed shouted down and made to look as if you are a heretict. They prey on the trust that friends have. We don't want to let our friends down. Even the brightest (and I can tell you some of the people involved in this scheme are Oxbridge graduates) seem to be able to 'forget' all logic. They think it: "won't happen to them". I am still thinking about the best way to tackle this. Thank you for your responses - keep them coming!

curlycat_2

Sadly it has reached Chepstow/Caldicot and now there are two variations. One for the £3K per person and a cheaper one for £100 per head. We've been asked to join so many times and my answer is always, perhaps you will get your money back but what will you say to people you recuit who don't but know you did?
My friends aunt has taken out a bank loan for £3K to join in. It's horrific to think of these people who can't afford to gamble risking their future incomes on a scam. But when you point out the maths they just say that they know someone who has been paid out.
Apparently it's a 'box' scheme here and you are told when you are approaching the pay out.

trisontana

curlycat wrote: »

Sadly it has reached Chepstow/Caldicot and now there are two variations. One for the £3K per person and a cheaper one for £100 per head. We've been asked to join so many times and my answer is always, perhaps you will get your money back but what will you say to people you recuit who don't but know you did?
My friends aunt has taken out a bank loan for £3K to join in. It's horrific to think of these people who can't afford to gamble risking their future incomes on a scam. But when you point out the maths they just say that they know someone who has been paid out.
Apparently it's a 'box' scheme here and you are told when you are approaching the pay out.

It would be a good idea to find out who is organizing these scams and report them to the police. Everybody involved (including your friend's aunt) are breaking the law. The sooner this can be nipped in the bud the better. In the long run it will save a lot of heartache and hopefully prevent a lot of people from losing their money.

maninthestreet

curlycat wrote: »

Sadly it has reached Chepstow/Caldicot and now there are two variations. One for the £3K per person and a cheaper one for £100 per head. We've been asked to join so many times and my answer is always, perhaps you will get your money back but what will you say to people you recuit who don't but know you did?
My friends aunt has taken out a bank loan for £3K to join in. It's horrific to think of these people who can't afford to gamble risking their future incomes on a scam. But when you point out the maths they just say that they know someone who has been paid out.
Apparently it's a 'box' scheme here and you are told when you are approaching the pay out.

The majority of people who join these schemes lose their money.
Ensure anyone who approaches you and invites you to join that they are committing a criminal offence, for which they can sent to prison for 12 months.

irn_bru

People keep talking about the legalities and the threat of prosecution if you're involved but as has already been discussed, the police can't be bothered to go after the organisers, let alone everyone else.

If you go into it thinking you're guaranteed cash then more fool you but some people make a lot of easy money and aren't bothered that it comes from the majority who lose. After all, they probably don't know them and will never meet them.

No I haven't been to a meeting, I haven't joined a scheme and never will throw money at one but I can see why people do when they see their friends taking home piles of cash.

Tillytrotter_2

A friend of mine has just mentioned it to me that she is going to a meeting in bridgend tomorrow night and is investing in it hoping to get £20K+ back within 5 weeks - its just doesnt seem true too me. I am going to wait to see what the outcome is, but reading back at all these its a very high risk to take.

Jennifer_Jane

It's irrelevant whether you yourself (not being personal to anyone at all) would get their money back. The arithmetic shows that people down the line will lose money. Therefore this is immoral, corrupt, and illegal.

Merlina says that they appeal to the emotions, yes, but more they appeal to greed. It doesn't seem to matter that friends etc say that money is lost down the line, people seem to be saying that 'they' won't lose money. Well, maybe they will, maybe they won't, but lots of people definitely will. How do these people feel about that?

Agh! How very, very sad!

Jen
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