Pyramid Schemes Mislead, Exploit

Have you ever been approached by a total stranger asking you if you want to make some extra cash and if so, would you be interested in joining their marketing company? Did they proceed to tell you that you can make your own hours and that you do not have to put in many hours, but at the same time promise large profits? Sounds great, doesn’t it? I think it sounds too good to be true.

A month ago I was in Cold Stone getting some ice cream with a friend when an attractive middle aged woman walked up to me and started raving about my hair, then proceeded to ask me all kinds questions about where I go to school, where I’m from, what my interests are, etc. I thought this was a little weird, but there’s no harm in making small talk with a friendly stranger. I ended up laughing off the situation.

Exactly a week later, I was sitting at my desk studying during a break between classes and I got a phone call. I did not recognize the number, only that it was local. I answered and my jaw hit the floor. “Hi, I don’t know if you remember me, but I’m the lady you met last week at Cold Stone.”

What?! How in the world had she gotten my cell phone number? First of all, I never told her how to spell my name, and that is not even my actual first name. After coming out of shock, I intently listened to her talk for quite a while about an opportunity she had for me to make some extra cash. She and her husband were trying to expand their marketing company along the East Coast and they needed some extra help. Not only did she want me to join, she wanted me to give her the names and numbers of my friends who I thought would be interested.

The lady continued on, “Well I could meet you today for lunch so that I could explain a little about our company, but even if you’re not interested, I still want to meet, so that you can go back and tell your friends about this opportunity.”

Red flag!! I had heard of these “business opportunities” before where they promise large profits, and then later you realize that the only way to get ahold of any money is to recruit people to work under you. This is called a pyramid scheme. Many times these companies use a product or find ways to make their multi-level marketing program look legitimate. Profits can be made only by the number of distributors you are able to recruit, and most sales of products are made to these distributors and not to real customers. Those who join these schemes end up losing any money that they originally invested plus some.

I never did go meet with this lady. She was very persistent, though, calling me frequently over the next few weeks. I guess these people need to be aggressive in order to have the slightest chance of making it up the pyramid.

This is not the first time I have been approached before about joining a marketing company or another kind of company promising the same thing. Other friends of mine have been contacted as well. As college students who are thousands of dollars in debt, the prospect of earning some quick cash might sound incredible, but beware, don’t fall into these schemes.