Sunday, May 08, 2005

Pyramid and MLM Scams

Too many people are getting sucked into "Pyramid and Multi-Level Marketing Scams". The crooks behind these scams go to elaborate lengths to convince their victims that there are legitimate goods and or services to sell. In the end, all they are doing is taking the money from new recruits and paying off some of the early stage investors.

These schemes always claim they will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. Eventually, the pyramid collapses and a lot of people are out their hard earned money. Before investing money in any enterprise that promises an unrealistic return, it is prudent to do your homework carefully.

Here is a link to information at the "Securities and Exchange Commission".

http://www.sec.gov/answers/pyramid.htm

Reporting suspected scams goes a long way in discouraging this shameful activity and bringing the criminals behind it to justice. Here is a link where you can report this activity directly to the "Federal Trade Commission", which investigates this type of fraud.

https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I came across this site that seemed educational, but I'm worried if they claim to be internet marketing experts... would they pull the same kind of pyramid 'scams'? Anyone check this site before?

Ed Dickson said...

I would be VERY careful about doing my "due diligence" before sending any money to a site like this.