Do you personally know anyone that has been heavily involved in a pyramid scheme?

[Vertimus]

So, I've been flipping channels.
Channel 2: PBS: Money drive.
Channel 3: PAX: Pyramid Scheme
Channel 4: CBS: Pyramid Scheme
Channel 5: ABC: Documentary on people who got burned by pyramid schemes. (The crappy kind that local stations do to improve rations)
Channel 6: Community Television: Pastor from some church telling viewers not to have greed.
Channel 7: TV Guide: Bow-flex ad.
Channel 8: Community Television: Godzilla re-run.
Channel 9: WB: Pyramid Scheme
Channel 10: UPN: Pyramid Scheme
Channel 11: NBC: SNL ("I live in a VAN DOWN BY TEH RIVER")


It seems to be quite rampant late at night.

So, do you personnaly know anyone that has been involved in a pyramid scheme? Did he actrually make money off it, or did he get burned? Tell us your stories.

 

[IronWing]

Yep, I've known three folks who joined Campus Crusade for Christ, a thinly vailed pyramid scheme. As far as I know they never reached the point of getting more than they gave.

I also have a friend who was hired to write software for tracking a MLM scheme for the tier one folks. He made out well 'cause he chose cash over a share in the scheme.

 

[Squisher]

My mother-in-law sent $4k to something called The Carlton Group for a scheme called "Double Your Money."

The only way we knew about it was that she sent $100 in my name as a birthday present for me. I'm supposed to get $44/month for some months, but all I've gotten is a bunch of letters saying they're going out of business and asking if I want to join their new scheme.


PONZI, PONZI, PONZI

 

[jelkukipik]

Bah just fill up one of these FREE IPODS and your in.You are even getting 5 of your friends in...And NOBODY is doing anything against the guys who run FREEBULlSHiiT.COM stuff.

 

[Otaking]

Originally posted by: ironwing
Yep, I've known three folks who joined Campus Crusade for Christ, a thinly vailed pyramid scheme. As far as I know they never reached the point of getting more than they gave.

I also have a friend who was hired to write software for tracking a MLM scheme for the tier one folks. He made out well 'cause he chose cash over a share in the scheme.

Campus Crusade is a pymarid scheme?

 

[Dessert Tears]

I roomed with some guys from Kazakhstan for a few months. They were nice guys, except that they tended to be noisy and started smoking in the bathroom when it got too cold to do it comfortably outside. They were sort of bumpkin-ish and probably pretty gullible.

Somehow they got involved with Market America which seemed to be like Amway targeting foreigners and recent immigrants. They had some Market America vitamin supplements, hand lotion, and water bottle. They listened to tapes featuring the leader and inspirational speaker, the kind that sound good but are really common sense and BS rolled into a tasty little pill. I read one of their handouts, "The Power of Doubling": if you take 1 penny and double it once a day, you will have $1 million in under a month (between 26 and 27 doublings)! So if you sell Market America to just 2 of your friends ...

The funniest thing was when two of them brought some girls over. They had some beers, were chatting and working their game, and then started the Market America spiel. I could sort of hear them through the wall, and the sell went on for nearly 2 hours. The girls seemed to like it (giggling and such), but they were probably just drunk. They did this twice that I know of.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: Otaking

Originally posted by: ironwing
Yep, I've known three folks who joined Campus Crusade for Christ, a thinly vailed pyramid scheme. As far as I know they never reached the point of getting more than they gave.

I also have a friend who was hired to write software for tracking a MLM scheme for the tier one folks. He made out well 'cause he chose cash over a share in the scheme.

Campus Crusade is a pymarid scheme?

Yep. If you work for them you are expected to collect donations from the students you save. You live off a portion of the donations and pass a portion to the person who recruited you. That person in turn passes a percentage of their earnings and of your take up to their recruiter and on up the pyramid.

 

[XZeroII]

Social Security...

 

Yes, one of our family members was heavily involved in the new wave of amway deals.
He made a lot of money.

 

[V00D00]

I got a free tv from freeflatscreens.com if that counts. It's pretty damn sweet.

 

[V00D00]

I'm wonderingif anyone has also tried the free ipods.com thing along with another gratis site site. People say that's a pyramid scheme, and it would take a lot of time to do more than 1 site. Anyone accomplish that? You can totally do that too, says so clearly in the terms.