Have you ever thought of becoming rich? Make a lot of money in a given short period? Well, in a pyramid scheme, that’s what you are supposed to get by doing simple tasks on your phone.Pyramid scheme companies are unclear or sketchy business models, where top members encourage and recruit new members. The recruits are supposed to pay a small registration fee before being members of the company.
This is how the pyramid works?
1. New members are required to pay a registration fee to join the company.
2. They are assigned to sell goods and services at various levels.
3. To make more profit existing members are supposed to recruit more members into the company.
4. The company depends on money from new members joining to run.
5. When no new members are recruited, the company is forced to shut down. The high-ranking officials in the pyramid scheme companies, take the money while the rest of the members are left to their peril.
1. Crowd 1
It was founded by a Swedish national: Jonas Eric Werner in 2019, in South Africa. He claimed that the company aims to create “the next generation of online networking.” After creating an account through a link sent by a friend, the next step was to purchase an education premium which was
· White package 99 Euros
· Black package 299 Euros
· Gold package 799 Euros
· Titanium package 2499 Euros.
Members were promised bonuses after every end month as a salary. They termed this profit-sharing from third-party companies such as GitHub, AffilGO, and Epic lotto.
2. Richkash
It was online marketing, where interested individuals joined through an invitation link. Upon successful registration, one would then, be awarded around $2 for the starter. The next step was to process orders of various commodities such as jewelry, household items, and electronics. In other words, they were supposed to be sales representatives in the business.
There was a various level of trading.
· Membership level 3 commission 0.7%
· Membership level 4 commission 0.85%
Payment would be made at the end of every week. To earn more bonuses, “investors” were supposed to pay some specified amount to upgrade to the next level and earn more commission. The number of the orders was limited according to trade level, with a minimum withdrawal of $5.
3. Wealth
Like the preceding two, in this case, a potential customer was supposed to download the wealth app on the play store and register via an invitation link. The tasks were to watch videos on two famous social medial platforms: Tiktok and Instagram, like the videos, and screenshot and share them in the app. The source of revenue was that celebrities and other entertainment companies were paying viewers for the increase in the number of viewers. To earn more trading bonuses, one was required to deposit a non-refundable specified amount of money to their account and earn more commission.
4. Amazon
All of us are familiar with Amazon: an online affiliate marketing, whose headquarters are in the USA. This scheme claimed to be AMAZON recruiting sellers. It worked in the same principle as Rickash. For one to join the company had to pay an entrance fee of $5. There were different levels for members to subscribe to. Some of the products on sale included motor vehicles, electronics, kitchenware, and clothes. Their main agenda was members to recruit more new people into the company, to earn more commission. It was later discovered that Amazon had no relation with this company and they closed down, having robbed more than $500m from unsuspecting members.
5. Metabolife
It was founded by a former police officer; Michael J. Ellis. It ran various commercials on Metabolife; a drug that could help people lose weight effortlessly. However, it emerged later that the tablets contained ephedra: a highly addictive substance. Some of the side effects included addiction and loss of appetite. Convinced by the positive results, the addicts would join in as sales representatives. The company, however, was closed down, despite being approved by DEA after more than one hundred deaths and serious health issues reported and millions of dollars from the unsuspecting members.
6. BurnLounge
It was instituted in the year 2005. The company was to enable people to start their virtual music stores by giving them access to the music industry for a small monthly payment to make their playlist. Independent artists would have a free platform to showcase their talent and be exposed to the world without extra charges. The members, however, were awarded points instead of real money for every download on their website. The company was later sued for fraud and ordered to return over $2million to all the victims. It later closed its doors in 2008.
7. Fortune Hi-Tech Marketing.
By paying $200 to the company, one could sell products on behalf of Fortune Hi-Tech Company. These products include; television services and telephone plants. After paying the joining fee, the members would start selling at various levels, the lowest being the 1st level, with a commission of 0.25% on sales. Surprisingly, all levels of trade had the same percentage commission. It depended on individual hard work to earn more. The company was later declared a pyramid scheme companies and ordered to refund all those who were affected.