Beware of Easy Money

    With the current economic conditions, there have been an ever increasing number of online promotions promising easy money by luring people into cash gifting programs or clubs.  In fact, the BBB warns …”cash gifting is not a legitimate way to make a few extra dollars, and in fact, is nothing more than a pyramid scheme...” or better known as “Ponzi schemes”.

     Schemers have gone digital by moving their operations to the Internet and are marketing their programs as a way to make some easy money. Web sites, Google ads, and YouTube are used to lure they’re victims into the schemes.

     According to the BBB, there are almost 23,000 cash gifting videos on YouTube with nearly 60 million views. The creators of these videos typically boast about a new program they discovered to help people make money through either cash leveraging or cash gifting.

     Some schemes are portrayed as fundraisers or programs to help people help themselves. They ask for an initial participation fee of up to $5,000 and have the participant convince additional people into the scheme in order to make money. The fee is then used to pay people further up the pyramid.

     The BBB advises people to ask themselves three questions in order to evaluate dubious money-making opportunities:

• Do I have to make an “investment” or give money to obtain the right to recruit others into the program?

• When I recruit another person into the program, will I receive what the law calls “consideration” (that usually means money) as a result?
• Will the person I recruit have to make an “investment” or give money to obtain the right to recruit and receive “consideration” for getting other people to join?

     If you answered “yes”, then you’re looking at a scheme. Don’t be surprised though if the person tempting you is a friend, co-worker, or neighbor. Just because you trust that person, beware, they may have fallen victim to the scheme.

 Good Luck!

 Jeff Gibson