Most Commonly Used Tricks by Investment & MLM Scams

Nowdays we seen or promoted with many Investment and MLM scheme that promise very high return which is very attractive. Beware! if you seen this kind of scheme. You may loose all your money.

It is very advantages if you could identify it earlier instead of falling to be a victims of such schemes. stopscams007 from Low Yat Forum make a lot of effort in compiling 30 most commonly used tricks utilise by Investment and MLM Scams. I hope with this list lesser people will fall to be victims of such scams.

Here is the list

1.) “Denial” trick – They will claim “we are not mlm”. Knowing that many people don’t support a mlm or direct sales products. Some companies will keep denying they are MLM and used other terms like “franchisee” business, eg. Lampe Berger, STG, IRC; or “investment schemes” eg. Sunshine Empire, GRI, etc;

2.) “Get-A-Job” trick – Example Easypha-max.

3.) “Future Plan” trick – This has been most common in the past. They will tell you a lot of rosy future plans like setting up factory in Malaysia; or going public listed soon and you will be given free shares or priority to buy cheaper chares; or whatever you purchase now be worth much more in the future.

4.) “Secret Formula” trick – on both plan and product. When they cannot explain how the product or their marketing plan works(obviously not if it is a scam) they will tell you “this is Company secret, tell all will means allowing competitors to follow us”. Fixed return on investments(ROI) scams that take monies from the new victims to pay the old ones always use this statement.

5.) “Other Industry” trick – This trick started by Sunshine Empire is most commonly used by those investment scams that promised fixed return. This is the most common trick now. After the failure of investment scams like Sunshine, Mobilwallet, STG, etc many people already know that it’s impossible for products selling or food business to gain such profits margin for unlimited members. So they use other industries like a certain plant or tree cultivation, seaweed, fish, fuel, IT-related development and the latest is “turning waste oil into crude oil” with office at Mont Kiara. Others out soon(being planned now) are church-related, shipping industry, space industry, etc

6.) “Long History” trick – You probably heard many times on this. Those MLM Companies that have longer history will use this trick to “bully” the newer companies but what has that got to do with their products or whether it is a good business ? They will tell you their Company is stable because of a longer history (don’t they have their beginning too ?) or used products supplier’s history which do not belong to them.

7.) “Testimonials” tricks on both products(esp healthcare products) and on the business opportunity. Nearly every healthcare products MLM used it. Sunrider, Morinda, SNE, BioYoung and many others, where have they all gone now if their products are so good ? Most of the time, the effects are placebo(see no. 13 below) or exaggerated. Testimonials are commonly used for the income opportunity too. They will always tell you so and so in their company earned a lot but NEVER caution you that over 99% of those who joined earlier have left or lost some money.

8.) “Moneyback gurantee” trick – Is this a trick too ? Certainly ! This trick works well because people fill safe in paying for it BUT when you try to claim your money back; here are the common senario: your introducer or seller is hard to locate now, there is a 10% “certain fee” not brought to your attention earlier, certain offer items are not returnable; or your upline will beg you not to return because commissions they and you earned need to be refunded.

9.) “International” trick – They will tell you their organisation has reached many countries, so what ? What has that got to do with you and your money which you are going to pay ? In some cases, foreign based MLM Companies are actually Malaysian-created with a virtual office addressed overseas. Some US claimed companies don’t even do much business in US. Past examples are Enrich, Xango, etc

10.) “Professionals” trick – most commonly used are doctors and lawyers. Doctors and Lawyers who speak for any business have poor code of ethics and comnpanies who used such tricks are worse.

11.) “Doctors Endorsement” trick – Can we trust doctors who breach their own code of ethics ?

12.) “Legal Agreement” trick – This one is most common now in investment scams. You think legal documents will protect you? They are used to earn your confidence or take away your rights, more later. In most of their agreements, they have a clause included that the Company can change any conditions in future leaving the members no rights to take actions against them. Past examples of this trick are MobilWallet and STG. Their bosses, offices and restaurants are still around but members cannot do anything legally.

13.) “Placebo-effect” trick – Used widely by Fusion Exel and those energy pendant sellers. Placebo effects are more significant and effective from “energy” products like those made from magnets, ceramic or lava soils. When the users(normally MLM members) believe and have greater faith in them, a certain inner energy can be produced that may be good enough to cure some illness or symtoms. After the enthusiasm is over, you will find the product no longer effective. This is one of the reason why MOST of those MLMs selling health products are gone. I am sure we have all experience with doctors too. If you lack confidence with a certain doctor or medicine, it may not work for you because your inner energy from your own placebo effect is working against it.

14.) “Chemical Reaction” trick – Remember the footpatch that cheated so many people ?

15.) “Give you downlines” trick – This is a fishing trick used most commonly in those called binary plan. Some Management can even create new accounts for you to be placed somewhere on top; or they will tell you “I will give you a very strong line from Indonesia or Thailand, all you need is just build one leg”

16.) “Free Body Checkup” trick – They will use a gadget or some machines to do for you a free check and later recommend you to buy their product and claim it will work for your problem. Some of them do not even tell you their purpose when they invite you for the “free” checkup. After you entered their office and did the check-up, you are trapped !!

17.) “Only-we-have-products” trick – Mostly OEM products that no one knows or trusts. This is traditional in every MLM business. Everyone will claim that ONLY their Company has the product. Of course, because they simply contract a manufacturer to manuafcture for them. In most cases, the products are much more overpriced compared to similar products of another brand available over the counter. Such products are usually not value-for-money and only in the beginning because they are bought up by the distributors or the members of the company. Past examples are Forever Living, Sunrider, Bio-young, XKL, Morinda(Noni juice), Nu-skin, For-Life, Reliv, Xango, SNE etc. They all started with a hype and great volume during the 1st one or 2 years and quiet down later when even their hig-ranking members will no longer buy them.

18.) “Brainwashing” trick – wow, this is going to be long…….

19.) “Training” tricks – They only tell you “not to quit” but not why and how you will fail. While training is good for one’s personal development, it can be harmful if you are trained in a misleading way by any particular Company. Take Amway for example, I am sure everyone of you has a friend or 2 who swear that they will NEVER leave or quit the Company 5 or 10 yeras ago(all due to their great trainings, brainwashings and motivations) but disappeared now due to embarrassment. My advice is “since 99%(statistics don’t lie) of all MLMs or pyramid schemes business members will not be successful or make it to richness, NEVER close your back door by swearing you will never quit.” Another such example is QuestNEt that started with that no-value gold-plated coin that ask for over RM1000 each. Their members(mostly youngsters) are all trained to approach at least 100 prospects before they should quit. It will only lead to more victims and when they eventually quit, they will be so disillusioned that they will never want to get back into any form of business.

Remember this example if you are ever trained or brainwashed not to quit a business:

A fly inside a closed room saw a big heap of delicious rubbish outside through the closed window. The fly has the motivation, aim, goal, an action plan(everything ever needed and trained for achievement) to knock down the window and get out for the rubbish. With a “Never Quit” attitude, the fly will knock the window until it gets killed. So much on trainings and brainwashings.

20.) “Tee Up” trick

21.) “Good People” trick – announcing they are of a certain religion or vegetarians

22.) “Chicken & Duck Talk & Physcology” trick – This is also very common now and used by nearly every MLM or scam with a good training department eg: When you question them on the business module and suspect a scam or when you have cornered them, they will give you answers like:

“In any buisness, you need to work for your income, there is no guranteed income”,

” I am afraid you have been misled by others or heard too much negative things from those who are not even how members, so how could they know better than us ?”,

“Failures always find excuses not to work, successful people always find ways to succeed”

“Birds of the same feathers always flock together – Only failures listen to failures(we listen and learn from our successful leader in our company”

“Those who failed or left are jealous, so they condemn us”

“No one force them or point a gun on their head to make them join”

I am sure you have heard much more, maybe help to contribute ?

23.) “All are Pyramids” trick

24.) “Confusing” Plan trick

25.) “Company Background” trick – They are big in China or U.S. – What has that got to do with the products?

26.) “Treat You” trick – Let’s come out for yum cha and there is a free makan !! Greedy people will get this one.

27.) “Gadgets-Testing” trick

28.) “High Repeat Sales” trick

29.) “Impressive” trick – Normally on their office or website

30.) “Figures” trick

Continue to read my other post to avoid the investment pitfalls: Hottest Scams in Malaysia?

Disclaimer: This is just a personal view and I do feel the highest pyramid scheme in our world is the corporate world since we are just slave to the CEO which gets the highest salary and we are just the slave to them. The only way to escape this to become the CEO or business owner and let other people become the slave :P  Well I still believe there are good MLM out there which will can build a lasting business and build our character as well. Recommend Robert Kiyosaki's books if you want to get out of the rat race. Be well and live well. The force is within you ^_^