Don’t get dazed by lofty promises of pyramid schemes

I really do not blame people for falling for pyramid schemes.

The desperation of eking out a living by just existing to only pay the bills at the end of the month gets to a boiling point where many frustrated with the daily drudgery of responsibilities can snap and blindly seek out quick solutions.

It is hard to get paid on the 25th, only to watch the debit orders gobble your whole salary by the first week of the following month.

The problem with these converts to various Ponzi scams though is that every time one goes to a social event you are more likely to meet overzealous recruiters among family members, acquaintances and friends who will desperately try to hook you to join their “sure-fail” scheme.

Remember for them, they are trying to get as many people as possible as the schemes, no matter their fancy titles or presentations, work on the basis of pyramid scheme payouts. The more people you get to join under your name, the better your chance of moving up the pyramid to get a nibble at the fat cherry.

Noting how many people are suspicious of these scams, they have come up with interesting methods of recruiting people. If it is not private parties for the select few, it is the usage of words like sponsors.

I know a lot of people who went crazy with the recent MMM wave and it was quite intriguing to watch right-thinking relatives believe fiercely that joining what was termed the online stokvel was their shortcut to a pot of gold.

What was strange is that like Stepford wives under a spell, the members would get smses during the night to either go and deposit the money by “sponsoring” other members, or they themselves claimed that you would receive an alert during the witch hour to go and withdraw thousands from mystery donors.

Some people had to devise plans to keep watch at night in case the sms’es summoned them to ATMs at 4am!

And give it to them these sleek recruiters, one lady in church called a friend of mine to a meeting for investment opportunities only to wax lyrical about a scam that was flagged by government for being a Ponzi scheme.

“I wanted to share this with you because I don’t want to get rich alone.

“I have seen people in the township demolishing their old municipal houses and building double storeys because of this,” she said.

Two years later clearly the same scheme did not do much for her as she was ejected out of her home because of having a lot of debts and she now lives in an informal settlement.

I will give R5 000 to anyone who will show me someone they claim was made rich by these scams. It is always someone who knows someone who knows someone. You are more likely to meet five lotto millionaires going down Smal Street. People, wake Up!