ALL THOSE “OPPORTUNITIES”: PYRAMID SCHEMES RAMPANT
In tough economic times people are searching for
alternatives to either supplement their income or even start working on a
business on their own. This is exactly the right timing for fraudsters and scam
artists to bombard you with all kinds of fantastic opportunities that will
change your life, bring you financial freedom and humongous income. In fact the
situation has grown so rampant that the organization Pyramid Scheme Alert (http://www.pyramidschemealert.org)
has launched a petition which I recommend every US reader should fill in and
sign. The petition can be found at http://www.pyramidschemealert.org/ConsumerPetition.php.
Hundreds of MLM scams operate openly under a cloak of
legitimacy. 90-99% of all people who join these schemes never earn a profit! In
fact many suffer devastating financial losses. Only the top perpetrators make
money off the losses of all the others. There is ample evidence that State and
federal Government officials in the US, receive millions in campaign
contributions from product-based pyramid scheme companies and lobby groups.
As a sign of the economic crisis and large numbers of cash
strapped people that come with it: "Cash Gifting" pyramid scams are
springing up and spreading across Canada and the US. More recently I was
approached for such a scheme on a New Zealand business network as well and I
have seen these scams advertised in the UK. These same types of pyramid schemes
were widely exposed and prosecuted more than six years ago. At that time, the
most popular was aimed at women. It was called "Women Helping Women."
Others have targeted Latinos, African-Americans, blue collar, and some
religious communities. Most of these scams promise hundreds of percents returns
on your investment, conveniently labelled as "gifts". In fact, cash
gifting schemes are so rampant that a separate watchdog site has been set up
just for that Cash Gifting Watchdog, at http://www.cashgiftingwatchdog.com.
Government prosecutions are slow and in some areas even non-existent.
There is anecdotal evidence that members of the police, prominent politicians
or their spouses are themselves involved in the scams. At the same time the
laws on pyramid schemes in different countries are not always clear and more
than once leave substantial room for what could be considered a grey area. It
is in this area that those MLM’s operate and all under a cloak of legitimacy.
Many people still wonder whether or not a certain new MLM is legal or
legitimate. I would say, does it really matter when the cold hard reality is
that on average 90-99% and sometimes even more of the people involved never
make a cent and actually many lose out substantially! WHAT KIND OF AN
OPPORTUNITY IS THAT? Besides that, what really do not understand about the
question “is this a legitimate MLM?” is already giving away the shady character
of this business. When was the last time you got involved into a business and
had to ask yourself and others: is this actually legitimate?EXACTLY!
In the past weeks have I have been receiving from Hallmark,
Ikea and Coca Cola, geared to getting you to open them and click on the
attachment. The attachments in these cases all .zip files, often contain
viruses or Trojans that track everything you do on your computer or give the
sender complete access to your PC. Recommended course of action: delete emails
such as this. Whatever you do, don’t click on the attachments.
Occupational fraud and abuse is on the rise, which should
not come as a surprise in the current economic climate. Financial pressures are
up and worldwide people are being laid off. In these circumstances more people,
and your employees are certainly no exception, are looking at
alternatives.Occupational fraud and abuse directly affects your bottom line and
could very well cost you your business. This is hardly a time to sit back and
wait for it to happen. A pro—active approach is required! See for yourself how
you will be able to learn from the experiences of a professional, an
ex-fraudster and a victim how to better protect your business and how to
recognize the signs that something may be wrong. Find out more here http://www.arcisfdec.com/documents/Occupational%20Fraud%20Abuse%20light.pdf
Workshop Safe Computer Use in the Workplace
In nowadays workplace the use of computers, internet
facilities and all kinds of mobile data carriers is standard. The world is
taken by the social web.Using real life
cases and case scenarios, facts and questions will provide participants a peek
into the world of digital crime and abuse as well as the inherent risks
associated with careless use of modern day facilities. Time and time again it
is proven that your weakest link in information security is the human and not
the technology. This workshop aims to enhance the awareness of you or your
employees about the risks and downright dangers associated with the use of
computers, internet facilities, mobile and portable devices for your business.
More importantly we will address how to deal with and manage these risks in a not
overtly technical sense but more from a human, policy and measures perspective.
I you enjoy and value what you are receiving for free in
this newsletter, and if you are serious about a pro-active approach to fraud:
you should consider subscribing to the INFORMANT. We have a special promotion
going on so don’t wait until it is too late and save yourself US$140 straight
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As an extra bonus we will send you the February 2009 issue
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With this subscription you support the work of the Fraud
Discovery & Exposure Centre to keep you and others safe from scam artists,
(internal) fraudsters and other rip-off artists.
I get a lot of leads about different stories and articles
through various newsletters and web sites, but the amount of relevant
information on the Internet is simply far more than anyone has the time to
monitor. If you encounter a news item about asset protection or related tax
subjects that may be of interest to other readers of this newsletter, please
send me an email with a link to any source that is not a restricted
subscription service. If you have a story you feel may be appropriate for this
newsletter, contact me. I’d appreciate not getting obvious advertising
material. Let me know if you want me to give you credit for the information tip
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Reproduction of any portion of this email is strictly prohibited without the
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The contents of this email are not to be considered as legal
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ARCIS FRAUD DISCOVERY & EXPOSURE CENTRE
ARCIS New Zealand Ltd
PO Box 13 593
Christchurch 8141
New Zealand john@arcisfdec.com
