Pyramid Marketing Schemes & Scams That Are Rocking America

If your mother was anything like my mother, she said to you at least once a week: “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.”

If you are currently in the job market, then you will do well to remember that particular saying, and avoid career opportunities that promise instant wealth with no strings attached. Most of these businesses are fraudulent companies that make money off naïve individuals who are trusting enough to invest in their product or service.

There was an episode of King of Queens that dealt with this type of business. Doug, one of the main characters, was convinced by one of his friends to participate in a pyramid marketing scheme where he had to invest a large sum of money in order to sell water purifiers and recruit new employees. By the end of the show, he was left with fifty water purifiers, no downline, and he was out two thousand bucks.

Believe me, that’s typical when it comes to get-rich-quick schemes.

Other people have lost even more money. A Floridian woman by the name of Marcie Stoves invested in a Multi-Level Marketing company in Miami two years ago. She was told by the managers of the company that she would make up to $8,000 her first week selling women’s purses on the streets of Dade County. With a baby on the way and her husband out of work, she signed on as an independent contractor, and ended up losing her house, her car, and all of her savings working for this so-called “Miracle Company.”