MLM, Pyramid & Hustle Scams

Schemes where participants earn money solely by recruiting new members, with no real product or service — mathematically guaranteed to collapse, leaving the vast majority of participants at a loss.

Multi-level marketing structures where products exist but income depends overwhelmingly on recruitment, not retail sales — leaving most participants with unsellable stock and net losses.

Schemes framed as community gifting or mutual aid where participants pay cash to those above them in a chain, with the promise of receiving larger payouts when they recruit enough new members — a pyramid structure dressed as generosity.

Schemes combining cryptocurrency with multi-level or matrix recruitment structures, where participants buy in with crypto and are paid only when they recruit others — obscuring money flows and complicating recovery.

Schemes presenting foreign exchange trading as a wealth-building opportunity while deriving income primarily from recruiting new members rather than from actual profitable trading.

High-priced online courses and mentorship programmes sold through lifestyle marketing that promise life-changing income skills but deliver recycled, low-value content — often with a secondary recruitment income layer.

Schemes selling expensive travel club memberships with the promise of discounted holidays and a multi-level income from recruiting new members — where the travel discounts rarely justify the cost and income depends on perpetual recruitment.

MLM structures that pressure distributors to purchase large quantities of product to qualify for commissions or advance rank — resulting in garages full of unsellable stock and financial losses disguised as business investment.

Schemes operating through social media lifestyle content that recruit followers into paid programmes, teams, or communities where the real income model is perpetual recruitment, not the advertised income skill.

Schemes selling 'done-for-you' or automated passive income systems that promise money earned while you sleep — the systems rarely work as advertised and often include a recruitment income layer.

Schemes where participants send money to names on a list, add their own name, and forward the message with the promise of receiving money from future participants — mathematically unsustainable and illegal in most jurisdictions.

Schemes structured as affiliate marketing networks where meaningful income requires recruiting new affiliates rather than generating genuine product sales — a pyramid disguised with marketing terminology.

Multi-level marketing operations selling vitamins, weight-loss products, or wellness supplements where most participants lose money on mandatory monthly stock purchases while unproven health claims are used to recruit both customers and sellers.

Direct-selling schemes built around essential oils that combine home-party recruitment tactics with exaggerated therapeutic claims, leaving most 'wellness advocates' with unsold stock and little income after mandatory monthly orders.

Multi-level marketing schemes selling skincare, makeup, or beauty products through 'independent consultants' who are pushed toward recruitment and inventory purchases over genuine retail sales, resulting in losses for the majority of participants.

Paid membership clubs that promise access to exclusive property deals, mentorship, or 'no money down' investing systems, but generate most of their revenue from membership fees and member recruitment rather than genuine real estate transactions.

NFT or Web3 platforms that pay existing holders a referral commission for recruiting new buyers, creating a pyramid-like structure disguised as blockchain innovation, where early recruiters profit at the expense of later participants.

Platforms claiming an AI-powered bot generates automatic, consistent trading profits, paired with a referral commission for recruiting new depositors — in reality funded by new deposits rather than real trading, collapsing when recruitment slows.

Paid trading 'signal' or stock-tip groups that combine unverifiable performance claims with a referral commission for recruiting new subscribers, functioning more as a subscription-recruitment scheme than a genuine trading-education service.

Paid dropshipping courses and mentorship programs that showcase inflated revenue claims and pay a referral commission for recruiting new students, generating most of the mentor's real income from course sales rather than genuine e-commerce success.

Paid membership programs promising exclusive ticket pre-sale access and bulk-buying software for reselling profit, which pay a referral commission for recruiting new members and generate most revenue from membership fees rather than genuine ticket arbitrage.

Multi-level marketing schemes built around reselling household energy or utility contracts in deregulated markets, where independent 'consultants' earn most of their income from recruiting other consultants rather than genuine long-term customer retention.