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Tom Muleya-Fraud Insight
Pyramid schemes are very old fraud scams and were named after Charles Ponzi’s famous scheme that swindled people of millions of dollars in the 1920s.
Since then, pyramid schemes became a common phenomenon globally.
In the previous article, we took a run down on pyramid/ponzi schemes that hit Zimbabwe in the previous years: the Bulawayo MMM (1990s), the Seke High School (1996), the Goezing Pawnbrokers (2013) run by George Zingane, the Covid-19 era Berven Capital pyramid scheme in Harare (2020), the Crypto Currency Share Investor Scheme (2021) run by Martin Mhlanga aka Boss Martin.
In 2016, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said that MMM Global Zimbabwe was the largest pyramid scheme to have scammed local investors.
These schemes had varying effects on victims as some committed suicides after suffering great losses.
Pyramids are eye catching and deceiving. They promise people to be instant millionaires within few days or weeks.
Those with big egos for riches are the most affected as they will omit the great aspect of conducting due diligence, to see if they are not putting their money in a dangerous business adventure.
Technological advancement has changed the complexion of pyramid schemes as they are now coming packaged in e-commerce or digital packages.
In other words, pyramids schemes are now advanced, and people need to be extra cautious on tempting investment schemes that are advertised on the internet.
According to the Zambia Monitor of 12 December 2022; “E-commerce fraud in Zambia had spiked, hitting 104 percent, in a digital holiday shopping fraud”.
Remember, Zambia is a stone’s throw away from Zimbabwe. The e-commerce pyramids that hit Zambia will not spare us here.
In order to avoid falling victim to on-line pyramid schemes, consider the following preventive measures;
If anybody tries to recruit you into what seems to be a pyramid scheme, report the incident to the nearest police.
Any approach requiring you to recruit people in order to make money without no real product or service involved is probably a pyramid scheme and should be avoided at all costs no matter how convincing it is.
Check first to see if the investment scheme is legal registered with in terms of the laws of the country.
Treat with suspicion any investment scheme that is too good to be true, it is highly probable its scam.
Avoid putting lots of money in any get-rich-quick scheme. The trauma may be too big to handle when you suffer a loss.
Any investment that is too good to be true is a scam.
Losing money is easier than recovering it. So jealously guard your cash.
Join in the fight against fraud and create a safe environment and crime free Zimbabwe.
Think Security. Watch out for the next issue on pyramids.
Feedback, WhatsApp line: 0772 764 043, or e-mail:[email protected]. Tom Muleya is a Detective Assistant Inspector working under the CID Commercial Crimes Division and also a member of the National Cyber Security Awareness Taskforce, Zimbabwe.
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