Types of pyramids in business. Financial pyramids - how do they work? Russian history of the pyramids

Hello, friends!

In 2018, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation identified 168 organizations that had signs of a financial pyramid. In total, over the past 4 years, their number has amounted to 685 pieces. There are no signs of reduction so far. There are many reasons for this, I will try to consider them in the article.

Today is a very important topic for every adult in our country. We analyze what a financial pyramid is and how not to become an injured participant.

In preparing the material, I looked through several documentary investigations, reports and interviews in the media. The topic excited me very much, first of all, by the scale of the consequences for the average person. If I have undertaken to raise as much as I can financial literacy of the population of our country, then it is necessary to write about the pyramids in the first place.

The concept and causes of occurrence

A financial pyramid is an economic scheme that is built in such a way that the income of some participants is formed at the expense of cash injections of other participants. And this happens until the flow of new members and, accordingly, their investment in the project runs out.

There is no doubt that the end is inevitable for one simple reason - the number of people on planet Earth is finite. One day there will come a moment when there will simply be no one to lure into the system. Given that the growth of members occurs exponentially, the life of any pyramid ranges from a few weeks to 2-3 years. Although there were exceptions in history.

For example, the scheme developed by the American Madoff turned out to be the longest-lived. His investment fund lasted 13 years.

And the history of the first pyramid goes back to the beginning of the 18th century, when the economist John Law organized a collection of money in France for the development of the Mississippi. In fact, no development took place. The rise in stock prices was supported artificially, the untold riches of the Mississippi and the willingness of the natives to give them away for souvenirs from France were widely advertised. All this turned out to be a myth. The share price collapsed.

It was the term “financial pyramid” that began to be called the system created by Charles Ponzi at the beginning of the 20th century in the United States. She was amazingly simple. At the 1st stage, the organizer himself paid the first investors income on their investments. Rumors quickly spread about the attraction of unprecedented generosity. More and more participants came. Their income has already been paid at the expense of those who came earlier, etc.

Until now, many modern pyramids are based on the Ponzi system. For example, the MMM of Sergei Mavrodi, well known in Russia, was built on this principle. And Madoff also worked according to this scheme.

Causes of occurrence:

1. Financial illiteracy of the population.
2. Human vices as old as the world: greed, the desire to earn without working.
3. Development of a market economy in general and the stock market in particular. But at the same time, there are gaps in the legislation on the regulation of financial activities.
4. Income growth. Many people can save money, but not many people can imagine where to invest it to save and increase it.
5. Loss of public confidence in the state and investment instruments recommended by it (deposits, mutual funds, IIAs, etc.)

Almost all reasons are removable, except for the second, so fraudulent lung diagram earnings were, are and will be, as long as the listed vices exist.

Kinds

Financial pyramids are single-level and multi-level.

A single-tier is often referred to by the name of the founder. In the center of the circle is the organizer, who controls all participants in the scheme. The income of the first investors is formed at the expense of the contributions of the subsequent ones. Over time, the number of members of this system grows, and the obligations of the organizer to pay interest also grow. But inevitably there comes a time when, with an increase in liabilities, the number of depositors decreases or stops altogether.

The end of the game is coming. The winner is the organizer and the circle of people closest to him. The rest lose all their money.

The tiered system is not only based on the entrance fee of each participant, but also on his obligation to invite several more members. That is, the income depends on the number of attracted people. It is clear that such a scheme, even from a mathematical point of view, cannot last long.

It is important! No one will ever tell you that you are investing in a pyramid scheme. Often they masquerade as network marketing, charitable and investment funds, mutual aid funds. Therefore, you need to know features fraudulent schemes. They will be discussed below.

When exactly the collapse will come, only the organizer knows. He sees a slowdown in revenue and new entrants. In this case, as a rule, the project ceases to exist, and its ideological inspirer disappears with all the money raised.

How does it work

Let's see how the simplest scheme works:

1. The organizer persuades 3 people to become members of the system and deposit $200 each. For each invited new member, he undertakes to pay $50.

Income: 200 x 3 people. = $600.

Expenses: 0.

Organizer's net profit at the 1st stage: $600.

2. Each of the 3 participants invites 3 more people.

Income: 200 x 9 people. = $1,800.

Expenses: 50 x 9 people. = $450.

Net profit at the 2nd stage: 1,800 - 450 = $ 1,350.

3. A similar scheme continues to operate.

Income: 200 x 27 = $5,400.

Expenses: 50 x 27 people. = $1,350.

Net profit at the 3rd stage: $5,400 – $1,350 = $4,050.

The more participants, the higher the income and the faster it will end.

signs

Probably the most important part of the article. Consider the signs by which you can recognize the pyramid:

1. Aggressive advertising campaign in the media, on the Internet, on the street, in mailing lists, etc. Mass events are often held to recruit new members: webinars, seminars. Be careful when attending such meetings. Leaders often possess special psychological techniques, easily gain confidence, convince, rush to make a decision and morally suppress them with their activity.
2. Guarantee of excess profits from 100% per annum. Sometimes it is promised a day or a month. No professional investor can guarantee a return on investment. Anything over 25 - 30% per annum is considered a high-risk investment.
3. Short period of existence of the company. Pyramids do not stay on the market for a long time, so if this is a young but promising project, you should at least be wary.
4. Absence of a company at the specified address, no information about the head, refusal to provide registration and permits. Often such companies are registered in.
5. Putting forward as a condition the attraction of new investors.
6. Sometimes fraudsters hide behind investments in the development and sale of some kind of innovative, as they say, product. Only the lazy one does not know about miracle remedies for losing weight, prolonging life, treating joints and other drugs and devices. In fact, this is a low-quality product that costs a penny on the market.
7. Calls to invest in the system here and now. No real investor will rush to make a choice. Money matters should be dealt with with a cool head.
8. Refusal to provide more details or vagueness of information about how investors receive income on their investments. At the same time, such people, as a rule, do not suffer from the lack of eloquence. Don't let yourself be talked about.

Not all of the listed symptoms may be present. But the presence of even one of them is a reason to be wary and think it over again.

An interesting fact, but in a completely legitimate business, a financial pyramid can form over time. For example, when an enterprise cannot repay its obligations. Takes new loans to repay old ones. But the products produced do not cover the increased costs. The business may go bankrupt.

Modern pyramids on the Internet

Today, scammers feel free on the Internet. Anonymity, electronic wallets, unlimited opportunities for advertising campaigns, large geographical coverage allowed the pyramids to multiply online like mushrooms after rain.

There was even a special term - HYIP projects. These are highly profitable and high-risk investment projects built on the principle of a pyramid. But often they only hide behind the fact that they invest participants' money in stocks, bonds and other investment instruments. In fact, this is still the same collection of funds from participants and payments due to this to earlier members.

Many understand that they are taking a big risk, but they hope to withdraw funds before the collapse of the hype. There are whole lists on the Internet with ratings and the date the project was created. And analysts publish their recommendations on when and where to invest in order to catch the cream. It turns out to do this in units.

How not to be confused with network marketing

In a separate question I will take out information about how the financial pyramid differs from network marketing. Many consider them synonyms, but they are not. Let us recall such popular companies in our country as Faberlic, Avon or Amway. They have been successfully existing for several decades and provide an opportunity to earn money for thousands of people around the world.

Distinctive features of network marketing:

1. Network marketing is a direct channel for promoting goods from the manufacturer to the consumer, bypassing intermediaries (wholesale depots, stores). Thus, it is possible to significantly reduce the cost of production.
2. The presence of a real product for sale, which benefits the person who bought it.
3. Income is calculated from turnover. The more people you can sell the product to, the more profit you get. There are no conditions and restrictions for earning.
4. Registration of participants is usually free.
5. The profit of the seller depends on his abilities in marketing: advertising himself and the product, profitable distribution channels, etc. The networker is fed legs and the ability to sell.

Often pyramid schemes are disguised as network marketing. Here it is important to once again analyze the signs of both and draw the right conclusions.

Conclusion

My research on this topic left a painful impression on me. I saw in the reports of correspondents hundreds of deceived people. Many of them are pensioners, unfortunately. The more articles and films about financial pyramids appear, the better. By the way, I also once became a participant in such a scheme in the distant 90s. Fortunately, she lost insignificant funds and received an excellent lesson for life.

It's a shame that people who lose a lot of money no longer trust anyone or anything. They keep their savings under the mattress and deceive themselves that they have reliably protected the funds. Are there former or current participants in financial pyramids among our readers? What do you think of all this?

In 1994, after the collapse Soviet Union, the screens of our TVs were filled with advertisements about Lena Golubkov. Short videos talked about how easy it is to multiply your savings. This large-scale investment project, widely known as "MMM", ended in the global collapse of the hopes of millions of people. And its organizer, Sergei Mavrodi, explained the success of this project with human greed and a thirst for easy money.
It was a long time ago, in the dashing 90s. Now, of course, times are different. But motley financial frauds are growing by leaps and bounds.

If you have not yet seen television sketches about Lena Golubkov, you are welcome:

Unfortunately, at the moment the laws of our country are not able to protect their citizens from the activities of such financial adventurers. Therefore, anyone who may be faced with an invitation to fraudulent earnings schemes (and as practice has shown, it can be absolutely anyone), you need to be aware of what a financial pyramid is, how it works, what are its signs, and what to do when you are invited in dubious projects.

The essence of the financial pyramid

A financial pyramid is a special way of getting money out of thin air for their organizers and "lucky ones" who have entered the forefront.

That is why the main feature financial pyramid is a way to generate income - not from the sale of goods or services, but from the influx of new participants.

Even despite the presence in some pyramidal schemes of some kind of trade, profits are made precisely at the expense of new people invited to this project.

This basic characteristic must be remembered once and for all. No matter what sauce the company's activities are presented with, in most cases they will still explain to you that for each invitee you receive a certain amount of money.

Or they won't explain. Because a financial pyramid can mimic some "exclusive" and "brilliant" investment project. But the essence is still the same: you can receive money only through the influx of new investors (or investors).

The contributions that new participants bring to the pyramid are distributed between the organizers and previous participants. The pyramid lives and prospers due to the constant arrival of newcomers, and when this flow weakens, and then stops altogether, the financial pyramid collapses. Accordingly, those who came at this time were not lucky - they will not be able to return the money.

But, let's take everything in order.

What does a financial pyramid look like?

It just so happened that in the 21st century there are more and more variations of financial pyramids. The essence of her work remains the same, but the masks are being invented more and more sophisticated. Typically, pyramid schemes may call themselves investment projects, social funds (which may be closely related to charity), network companies (which, of course, they are not in reality), credit organizations, and so on.

For clarity, we will give a diagram of a simple, classic financial pyramid:

Stage 1. The organizer invites the first 4 participants to invest $ 100, promising that for each newcomer they bring, they will receive $ 25.

Organizer's profit: 100*4= 400 dollars

Costs: $0

Stage 2. Each of the 4 participants brings 4 people, who in turn invest $100 and will also receive $25 for each newcomer.

Organizer's total income: 4*4*100+400 = 1600+400= 2 000 dollars

Expenses : 4*4*25=400 dollars.

Net profit: 2000-400= 1 600 dollars

Stage 3. Each of the 16 participants who entered the project at stage 2 brings 4 newcomers.

Organizer's total income: 16*4*100+400 = 6400+1600+400 = 8 400 dollars.

Costs = 16*4*25 = 1600+400= 2 000 dollars

Net profit: 6 400 dollars.

Etc…
Thus, the more a person enters the pyramid and brings in new investors, the higher the profit of the organizers. But even the faster it will collapse, because the number of people who can join it - certainly.

As soon as the influx of new investors stops, the cash flow dries up. The organizers at this stage, as a rule, disappear. And the last investors are left with nothing.

But, we repeat once again - in our time, “variations on a theme” are growing like mushrooms after rain. And the global Internet, which has become available to everyone, plays one of the leading roles in this growth. Therefore, in order not to become victims of enterprising and creative scammers, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the list of the main types of financial pyramids.

Types of financial pyramids

Financial pyramids can be single-level and multilevel.

single level Ponzi schemes are, in fact, unpretentious - investors simply bring money for a high percentage or fixed payments, which are paid out of the money of subsequent investors. According to this type, the notorious "MMM" was arranged.

Multilevel pyramid schemes use complicated schemes, for example, they impose the obligation to invite a few more people in order to make a profit.
Now let's move on to the varieties.

1. The classic type of financial pyramids

We considered this type of financial pyramid in our previous example. Depositors bring money and receive their income from newcomers. As they say, the scheme is as old as the world, everything is simple and clear. However, such schemes still exist, which means that people voluntarily participate in such events.

1. Mutual aid funds, "socio-financial" projects, etc.

This is one of the most insidious types of financial pyramids, because. the creators cunningly mask the essence of such organizations. They usually come up with some idea, often under the guise of good intentions. They are used for greater persuasiveness in addition to charitable activities. They talk about their very complex, ingenious, beneficial for all ways of distributing income between participants. They run an excellent advertising campaign, they are beautifully designed on the Internet. But the meaning is the same - money is made out of thin air, there is no product, and as soon as the flow of new participants weakens, the project falls apart.

1. Investment financial pyramids

As a rule, such pyramid schemes do not promise a quick payback. Their organizers talk, for example, about unique technologies or phenomenal and original investment projects that promise to be super profitable, but in the future. These companies can have everything Required documents, they will be registered in the necessary state instances. But after some time, the organizers of "highly liquid" unique projects disappear from the field of view of their investors, leaving them with unpleasant memories and useful life experience.

If venture funds and private investors are not interested in this "highly profitable" enterprise, and the organizers have to talk about the grandiose benefits of the project to ordinary people who are far from investments ... Then 99.99% that this is a financial pyramid.

1. Financial pyramid under the guise of network marketing

This type of financial pyramid, perhaps, can be given the first place in terms of its danger and insidiousness. The fact is that network marketing (or MLM marketing) is a completely legal and transparent working tool for doing business. But with its multi-level scheme, it is somewhat similar to the principle of financial pyramids.
However, these two financial instruments have one significant difference:

in MLM, there is always a product (product, or service) that is directly involved in obtaining your profit - your income depends on the proceeds from this product or service.

But in the financial pyramid there is either no product at all, or it is added to the scheme to divert eyes. For example:

• Goods and services that are much cheaper in market conditions
• Goods and services that are not in demand among consumers, do not have their own value

Most likely, in such pyramids there will be a large contribution. It is very likely that in return you will receive some goods of dubious quality and purpose, or maybe - legal support, which you, at best, will need only once for the entire paid period. And almost certainly they will tell you that your main duty is not to sell the goods, but to attract new members of this closed club, because. these exclusive services and goods can only be used by those who have entered this pyramid.

In addition, I would like to note that these types of financial pyramids have adopted elements of the corporate culture of network companies. Various trainings on self-development are used in the work, “free” training is provided for club members, mentoring and patronizing attitudes are being used, seminars and parties are held. Very tempting, at first glance, all this looks to the uninitiated layman. Therefore, people are often led. They borrow money and at first they fly on wings from new impressions, information and acquaintances. But then for the majority comes a great disappointment and farewell to their invested hard-earned money.

How to calculate a financial pyramid

So, we smoothly approached one of the most important sections of this article.

A good friend called you and tells you with genuine enthusiasm about a great opportunity to get rid of the oppression of his employer, become financially independent, stop working for an uncle, put together his own team, become a successful and talented leader and, as a result, live for your own pleasure, receiving a decent passive income. income.

Or maybe you were just offered to participate in a good kind project that can help the whole world become a better place. To give you the opportunity to do good, getting rewarded for it, thanks to the ingenious win-win schemes of the organizers of this project.

How to understand these intricacies and not fall for the bait of financial scammers?

To begin with, study in detail the signs of a financial pyramid.

Signs of a financial pyramid

1. Promises of high returns and fast payback

The very first sign of a financial pyramid is its high income, which is unusual for the level of the population. If in percentage terms, then it is certainly higher than bank interest. This is at least strange. And if, along with a high income, you are guaranteed break-even, which, in fact, is economically impossible, then this is most likely a pyramid scheme.
The promise of a quick payback should also alert you. Imagine how many competent financial investors and big businessmen there are in our country. Why are they still puzzling over how to optimize their business and what niche is worth investing in additionally. Wouldn't it be easier for them to invest part of their money in such a highly profitable financial instrument?

The question is, of course, rhetorical.

1. Large entry amount

This sign is not obligatory, but very often accompanies pyramid schemes. They tell you that you are obliged to invest a tangible amount of money, and they give weighty arguments at first glance.

1. Your task is to involve your friends in this project.

• If one of your main tasks is to conduct a large-scale advertising campaign among your friends and relatives….
• If you are reassured that they will teach special techniques, psychological tools for effective recruitment of work ...
• If your questions about the moral component are answered that you should not worry - after all, this is how you take care of your loved ones, helping them gain success and financial independence ....

It's better to leave right away.

1. Unique unprecedented technologies (know-how)

Yes, it is precisely such technologies, exclusive dizzying high-yield projects that turned out to be unfairly underestimated by large investors.

1. Passive, very passive income

• If you are promised maximum results for minimum effort...
• If you are told that you will be financially independent doing next to nothing...
• Or they warn that only at the beginning you will have to sweat a little - invite the required number of people to the project and help them bring their own ...

Remember the saying about free cheese in a mousetrap.

1. Lack of registration and permit documentation

Many financial pyramids you will not find the necessary licenses and permits, perhaps they will not even be registered with the tax authorities. Be sure to ask for an extract from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, ask if there is a head office, if this company is really located there. But, again - if all the necessary documentation is properly executed, this does not guarantee the purity of the intentions of this project.

1. Veiled financial transactions

Usually financial pyramids carefully try to hide their financial schemes. Where and how the money is distributed to investors is unknown. Documents are not drawn up and are not provided. If you encounter this, be on the lookout.

If you've already fallen for the bait...

First of all, calm down, do not scandal.

Secondly, demand the money invested to be fully returned, as they say, "in an amicable way." Be persistent and calm. You can first study your rights, memorize the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on fraud. When a person is legally savvy, they are more difficult to manipulate.

Thirdly contact law enforcement if necessary.

And finally...

If you think that you can make money at the beginning of the project, we will tell you: "Yes, you can." But consider: knowingly participating in such frauds, do not you become an accomplice? After all, anyone, including a person close to you, can be at that unfortunate end of the pyramid. And even you, if you were invited, for example, a year earlier.

Remember that the balance in the world is always being restored, and your thirst for quick enrichment at the expense of others will certainly return to you.

Be attentive to all financial events, who owns the information owns the world.

The phrase "financial pyramid" has become the epitome of deceit and fraud. However, today this way of building a business continues to be used all over the world. Entrepreneurs come up with new ways, and this phenomenon is not going to disappear. What are the signs of financial pyramids? What is their essence? Let's consider in more detail.

Pyramid Mechanism

Building a business in the form of a pyramid involves the involvement of ever wider layers of investors who ensure the stability and profitability of the system. The scheme of the financial pyramid is quite simple: new investors ensure the return on investments of previous investors. The higher the level of entry, the greater the likelihood of making a profit. Almost zero chances to get money from those who are at the bottom of the pyramid, and, as it is obvious, they are in the majority. The one who stands at the top, and possibly near the top, makes the greatest profit. Pyramid investing is not always a scam, but it is always vulnerable. Even a small failure in the system can lead to its collapse. Most often, a collapse occurs when one or more large investors want to withdraw their investment.

There are several approaches to assessing the nature of pyramidal financial structures: firstly, such enterprises can have a different organizational and legal form, secondly, they are a growing system of debt obligations - the longer such a company can hold out, the more debt it will accumulate; thirdly, the pyramid can be considered as a type of fraud, although there are some cases when such structures were created with good intentions. But they always act as a means of getting rich quick, so they raise questions from representatives of the law.

The main features of financial pyramids

Speaking about the pyramid business, it should be noted that it can be very diverse, and it can be very difficult to immediately recognize a scam. The first most important sign of financial pyramids is the lack of authorized capital. Everything happens by attracting new investors. This one is highly risky for all participants, except for the organizers, but it can be very tempting for investors, since the creators of such schemes always guarantee a quick and high income. It is guarantees that are the leading feature, since there are always risks for legitimate financial schemes, so they do not give guarantees. Usually such organizations do not have any licenses to carry out financial transactions. They offer for sale not the usual financial products, but some of their own inventions: shares, loan agreements. Also, a sign of the pyramidal scheme is a clause in the contract that in the event of the collapse of the company, the investor does not receive anything and has no right to make claims. There are also signs of financial pyramids associated with promotion: they are always very actively, even sometimes aggressively advertised; organizers devote a lot of time and effort to PR campaigns. To hide the absence of real investment or production activity, the organizers use a lot of special vocabulary in their speech, they create the illusion of a carefully thought out and reasonable scheme. In any attempt to delve into the study of the peculiarities of the company's work, statements of trade secrets appear. Investors are organized into a kind of community of like-minded people, the participants of the scheme are motivated to involve new players. For this, they are often offered additional bonuses, most often in the form of an additional stake in the business - in the form of a block of shares, for example.

Varieties of financial pyramids

There are several attempts to classify pyramidal financial constructions. These schemes are constantly being improved and modernized, so it is unlikely that it will be possible to cover all species within the framework of one typology.

According to the way the business is organized, one can distinguish “clean” pyramids that do not conduct any activity at all, except for the registration of participants and fundraising, and “camouflaged” under the most different types business: funds, clubs, networks. It is also possible to divide such companies according to the stated purpose of fundraising: some offer earnings and involve people with the promised profit, others work under mutual aid clubs. Some disguise themselves as companies that sell some goods or services (more often than others, the Forex market appears in them). There are pyramid schemes that mimic social enterprises or non-profit foundations.

Today it is common to find organizations that present themselves as consumer cooperatives or alternative programs to formal mortgage and lending businesses. Today, almost every day, a new pyramid appears, and the Internet provides enormous opportunities for their reproduction. This allows such schemes to be divided into online and offline designs. It is also possible to divide pyramids according to the intentionality of harming citizens: there are companies that were initially created with fraudulent intentions, and there are large investment projects that were conceived as real businesses, but as a result of mistakes and miscalculations turned into pyramids. Often the latter lead to the emergence of financial "bubbles" - an unreasonably high flow of investment in the project, which can provoke a loss of control and the destruction of the company.

A special category is made up of official pyramidal systems that are supported by the state, for example, this is how pension funds are arranged in many states. Current pensioners receive benefits from the contributions of future disabled citizens. Despite the fact that the country's leadership talks about various investments of pension funds, but often there are almost none, since the pension burden in developed countries is getting higher: life expectancy is growing, the number of working-age population is declining, so invest pension funds there is simply nothing, and there are significant risks of the collapse of these schemes.

Advertising and promotion

Important signs of financial pyramids are a special advertising activity. These firms need very fast growth in deposits so that people don't have time to start demanding dividends, and at the same time, for a large amount of funds to form quickly. These goals are served by massive advertising of financial pyramids, which has its own specifics. Such advertising campaigns appeal to human emotions; they try to lull his rational part and call for action without hesitation. Advertising communications are usually built around a certain person, stars and authoritative personalities are often involved. It is very rare to recognize the real leaders of the pyramid. All messages are built on the endless motivation of the consumer: they tell him how he can get rich quick by doing nothing, and give a vague explanation. The purpose of advertising is to push for immediate, irrational action, and it works like a shutdown mechanism. By being obtrusive, aggressively demonstrating near-success and simplicity, and talking about how many have already succeeded, and you may not have time, a rush of demand is created.

A lot of attention in such organizations is paid to PR campaigns: they always have excellent presentations, impressive publications in the media. Communications are often built around some kind of brand character, which is designed to inspire trust.

World experience

Our pyramid schemes of the 90s, of course, were not a new invention. The world economy has previously been shaken by the high-profile collapse of companies and the ruin of citizens. Charles Ponzi is considered the first creator of a financial pyramid in history, today his name has become a household name and is the designation of such schemes. In 1919, he came up with an international coupon exchange scheme that was supposed to bring huge profits. He managed to find several investors to whom Ponzi promised 45% profit in just 3 months. He was not going to make any exchanges of coupons, especially since they could not be exchanged for money, but only for postage stamps. But the scheme worked, investors simply did not bother to delve into the essence of the proposal and began to bring money. Ponzi began paying out the first depositors - and this spurred the hype, the money flowed like a river. The pyramid was brought down by a publication in the newspaper, in which the journalist considered that there should be several times more coupons bought with the money invested than is physically possible. Investors rushed for money, the company stopped its activities. Money was found in Ponzi accounts, which were divided among the victims. They managed to return about 40% of their investments, and this was not the worst case scenario in history.

After that, the world of finance knew many more pyramid schemes. The most famous of them were Lou Perlman's schemes, Stanford International Bank, L&G and Yingkou Donghua Trading, W. Feng and many others.

One of the largest long-lived pyramids was created in the USA by B. Madoff. His company was considered a successful investment project, very famous people and many large banks of the world brought money here. For 20 years, Madoff managed to balance, paying out interest by constantly attracting investments. It all ended unexpectedly, after the sons of the financier spoke about the essence of their father's enterprise. In a private conversation, he told them about the secret of his success, and they reported him to the police. Madoff was under investigation for a long time, and at the age of 71 he was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of 150 years.

Russian history of the pyramids

The ancestor of pyramidal constructions in Russia was Mavrodi Sergey Panteleevich. In tsarist Russia, there were minor financial pyramids in the form of mutual support funds and mythical investment projects, but they did not reach a large scale. In the USSR, there was no possibility of private investment, and therefore such scams were out of the question. Financial pyramids in Russia flourished during the period of perestroika. People were overwhelmed by the thirst for earnings, and the flow of scammers did not fail to take advantage of this.

The most famous and largest pyramid schemes, in addition to MMM, were the companies Khoper-Invest, Vlastilina, Chara-Bank, Russian House Selenga Bank, Tibet. Tens of millions of citizens have suffered from their activities. Trillions of rubles were confiscated from them, which have never been returned in any amount. The experience of the 90s with the loud collapses of the pyramids, litigation and the search for perpetrators around the world for some time reduced the growth of such schemes. But since the 2010s, a new round in the history of the pyramids begins, which flourish thanks to the Internet and the invention of entrepreneurs.

MMM

In 1992, Sergei Panteleevich Mavrodi and his brother and wife set up companies. MMM, which sold its own shares and tickets, guaranteed income up to 200% per month. The company itself set the price for the shares, they were not allowed into any free circulation. Shareholders did not receive any financial documents confirming the purchase. The shareholder could sell the shares of the company and make a profit. The main essence of financial pyramids is to attract depositors, and MMM has successfully used this mechanism. The population at that time was catastrophically financially illiterate and very gullible, and Mavrodi played on this. For two years the company flourished and grew rich, some investors managed to receive income and thus contributed to the popularity of the company. MMM was distinguished by a creative approach to advertising: a mini-series about Lenya Golubkov and his family became a real motivational film for ordinary people, and the phrase: “I am not a freeloader, I am a partner” went to the people. In 1994, there were claims against MMM for non-payment of taxes, but Mavrodi denied these allegations. All this provoked a panic among investors, and a general appeal of shareholders for money begins. In 1997, MMM was declared bankrupt, and the creator of the pyramid was accused of fraud. In total, almost 15 million people suffered from the activities of the MMM, but only 10 thousand were officially recognized as victims. The damage is estimated at 3 billion rubles.

New opportunities

The emergence of the Internet has led to a new round of development of the pyramidal type of business. The reason that pyramid schemes on the Internet have become so popular is the ability for the creators to maintain their anonymity. There are many money transfer tools on the Web that are poorly monitored by regulators. This is what scammers use. The most common type of financial schemes on the Internet is HYIPs. These investment programs with very high risks now offer some income programs. But in fact, the profit is obtained by attracting more and more new players. The organizers of pyramid schemes on the Internet assure that there is no risk in their schemes, since the number of potential participants is still very large. But this argument does not work, since any newsbreak can provoke panic and the collapse of the pyramid. Also on the network today you can find traditional models of pyramids, they are called scams (from the word deception). Such an investment pyramid is designed for the gullibility of people who do not check anything and transfer money. There are models that disguise themselves as games that provide for the sale of some attributes of the game. Fraudsters launch new projects on the network every day and almost always go unpunished.

The most famous financial pyramids on the Internet

The most famous internet pyramids today are Seven Wallets games, NewPro and MoneyTrain, virtual exchange"Stock Generation", organized by the notorious S. Mavrodi, Perfect Money and Liberty Reserve payment systems, WholeWorld investment pyramid and many others.

Network business and pyramids

Frightened townsfolk today do not just want to invest money somewhere, so the pyramids began to conspire under the network business, which, although it is also not perceived very positively, there are still a number of people who are ready to invest in it. There are many similarities between pyramids and networks, but there are also differences. To distinguish a fraudulent scheme from a real business, it is worth understanding what is the difference between them. MLM business always sells a real product. It may be of different quality, but still it always finds a buyer. It does not require too much entry fee. They may offer to buy a starter package of products - then its price should be reasonable and usually preferential for beginners. network company has a real address, shows constituent documents without any problems, usually does not hide its first persons. Income in the MLM business depends on the efforts and activity of the seller in sales, and not just on the number of people involved.

Rules of caution

In order not to get hooked by scammers, it is worth remembering some simple precautions. You should not fall for the promise of a guaranteed income, in the modern world of finance there can be no guarantees. When joining an affiliate program, you need to evaluate the amount of deductions "up". In trading companies, it does not exceed 5%, but if they promise to deduct 10% or more, then this should alert. Wherever you take the money, you need to carefully check the constituent documents, address and contacts of the company. It should be remembered that reviews on the Internet can be moderated and managed by the owners of the pyramid, so you should not blindly trust them.

Responsibility

If a person has a question: how to create a financial pyramid? Then he can be recommended the following: to think about responsibility for his actions, and only after that proceed to action.

In all countries of the world, financial fraud is being fought with varying degrees of success. In Russia, it is provided for financial pyramids. Amendments to the legislation have come a long way and only in 2016 they were finally signed by the President of the Russian Federation. The main punishment for the creators of this type of business is fines. When attracting more than 1.5 million rubles, the fine will be 1 million. If the pyramid is larger than 6 million, then the penalty will be higher - 1.5 million rubles, as well as forced labor and even imprisonment. The difficulty in bringing fraudsters to justice is that the law on financial pyramids only names the following 5 types of pyramids:

1. Those who do not hide their essence (as was the case with MMM).

2. Companies presenting themselves as a legitimate alternative to mortgage and consumer borrowing.

3. Firms that conspire under pawnshops, microfinance and credit organizations.

4. Companies that, under the guise of services for insurance, refinancing, settling debts to various borrowers, require large incoming contributions.

5. Organizations that pretend to be players in the financial market, in particular participants in the Forex currency market. And this list does not exhaust the whole variety of companies that operate on the principle of pyramids.

* Types of financial pyramids:

1. Investments— You invest money and do nothing and wait for interest. They are also called HYIP projects.
2. Classic financial pyramid or mutual aid fund. Money in such projects is transferred from one participant to another. This type of financial pyramids for 2019 is practically not relevant.
3. A disguised financial pyramid- classic FP with the addition of a masking element. For example, unwanted products or products that only some participants can receive.

** Popularity according to Yandex.Wordstat. How many people searched for information about the company in the previous month. Indirectly indicates the popularity of the project.

*** The topic on mmgp.ru is the most popular forum about making money on the Russian-speaking Internet.

**** Payment direct. Money is transferred from one user wallet to another, that is, they do not enter the project. This project ALWAYS PAYS. That is, he even in theory can not pay. Therefore, when entering such a financial pyramid, you need to look at its popularity indicators and read the topic on mmgp.ru. Because you can enter it without problems, but it is extremely difficult to involve someone there.

Economic games with money withdrawal

This type of Internet projects is essentially a subspecies of HYIP projects, in which elements of the game are added. few, but many of them are very popular and long-lived. This is their advantageous difference from HYIP projects.

Actual pyramid schemes and specific online MLMs

There is a clear definition of financial pyramids (read it). And not all companies fall under it. That is, from a legal point of view, they are not financial pyramids. But in practice, these companies work exactly like financial pyramids. Most often this happens due to POOR-QUALITY or UNNECESSARY products (one that could not be sold on the free market) or due to its long implementation (for example, Sky Way), or due to the incompatibility of certain types of goods / services with MLM.

And also because of the miscalculations of the management when opening the company. In addition, many online MLM companies with intangible products fall into this category.

13.02.2019

Mikhail Adamov

Reading time: 5 minutes

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A pyramid scheme is a money scheme, and the profit here is achieved by constantly attracting fresh investors, and not by investing in income-producing assets. For its monetary prosperity, the pyramid issues securities, as they are the most liquid and very convenient instrument. If the size of the infusion of finance into the system is less than the amount of income payments, then we are talking about a pyramid scheme.

Signs of a financial pyramid

The idea of ​​creating a monetary scheme was born in France and England in the seventeenth century. In Russia, it first appeared in the 90s of the last century.

Signs of financial pyramids

• Illegal (lack of license).
• Hiding financial information.
• Redistribution of funds between project participants.
• The need to pay an entrance fee.
• Earnings of a project participant registered earlier are always higher than those of the lower one.
• Fixed interest payment guarantee.
• The place of registration of the company is somewhere on the islands.

8 famous pyramid schemes on the Internet

Let's take a look at the most common monetary mechanisms currently operating on the Internet.

• MMM (founder - Sergey Mavrodi)

JSC "MMM" became the most massive pyramidal company. The idea began to unwind with the help of advertising in the media. The monetary mechanism is rapidly developing due to promises joint-stock company pay huge dividends.

The founder of the project, Sergey Mavrodi, is turning into Russia's leading entrepreneur. Shares soar in price from 25 to 125 thousand rubles per unit, people are in a hurry to buy them. About 15 million people become contributors. The system collapsed in 1994. People are already paying 1,000 rubles for a share, not 125,000.

Sergei Mavrodi is arrested. However, a week later, a new pyramid appears. History repeats itself: stocks rise, fall, points close, shareholders panic.

• Legion financial group

FG "Legion" is an international consortium of companies. Capital management is carried out by attracting investments, while using the funds of the accounts of banks with a rating of AA-AAA, which are included in the world top 25 (WER).

The financial group uses the Placement Program "PPP" (private placement programs), guaranteeing monthly interest payments according to the tariff plan for all investors. Interest is paid from the accounts of legal entities.

Legion has an affiliate program, due to which the investor also receives a percentage of the attracted capital. There is also income without own investments.

• Financial group YES

Financial group "DA!" is an association of a number of companies specializing in various areas of financial activity. The group consists of two organizations:

1. "DA! Invest", whose monthly income when investing money exceeds the interest rates of standard banks. Monthly net income financial group is more than 27%.
2. "YES! Credit" - a loan can be obtained in 30 minutes at 2% per day.

DA!Invest invests funds provided by depositors into DA!Credit and other reliable highly profitable business areas.

• Rostfinance Perm

RostFinance LLC (Limited Liability Company) is registered in Moscow and operates in all regions of the Russian Federation. The company provides entrepreneurs step by step instructions for starting a business.

From the moment the client opens a business, RostFinance undertakes legal support and provides free staff training. The company helps an entrepreneur open an office in 5 days, while the average payback period for a business is 45 days.

OOO Rostfinance Perm also contributes to loan repayment on favorable terms for clients. Provides financial and legal services: loan broker, payment of loans in any bank in Russia, correction and contestation of credit history, legal assistance "Anticollector".

QNET (QuestNet, Quest.net, QI) came to Russia in 2010 from Southeast Asia, its headquarters is in Hong Kong.

QNET specializes in e-commerce: selling personal care products, food additives, tour packages, energy-charged biodiscs.

The cost of products is not indicated on the website, but during a personal meeting, employees explain to candidates that each of them must buy goods from the company in the amount of 60-80 thousand rubles. A client who invites another person receives $200. All payments go through an online wallet.

There are all signs of a financial pyramid

1. Intrusive adware.
2. Lack of documents.
3. Weird diagrams.
4. The promise of fast and high earnings.
5. Controversial goods and entry fees.

• Zeus Pyramid

The Zevs business incubator is a business school, a legal project registered in Ufa. The number of participants exceeds 40 thousand people.

Each Investor contributes 10 thousand rubles, Co-Investor - 500 rubles, project participant - 200. Zevs sells its services and products via the Internet.

The project has passed international certification, has HTTPS protocol and protection against DDoS attacks.

• Financial pyramid Crocus

The Crocus financial group uses schemes for raising money and lending, similar to those used by the DrevProm company, recognized as a financial pyramid.

The group's products are microcredit and "co-financing" of loans.

What actually happens is this:

• the client takes the money to the firm;
• crocus makes no more than three payments to the bank and disappears along with the money;
• the bank sues the borrower and sues him for everything that was received due to the increase in interest and penalties.

The essence of the scheme is that customers are offered to repay the loan for a certain percentage (24-81%), depending on the amount of debt and the duration of the loan.

• Financial group NBF pyramid

The NBF company is called Business Independence and attracts investors' money at 60% per annum. The NBF consists of two parts: a microfinance organization and a collection agency.

Money is attracted to the company through a loan agreement for its collection agency.

The decision on whether or not to invest in a particular project is up to each of us!

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