How to detect and avoid Ponzi Schemes

If you have lived long enough, you must have seen or been swindled by one of the many Ponzi schemes at one time or another.

Ponzi Scheme is simply a dubious business model whereby people are lured to invest in a in fake business idea or proposition with the promise of an uncommonly high return on Investment (ROI) within a short period of time.

The first people to join the scheme are usually paid by the mastermind behind the scheme with his own money (could be money gotten from other schemes also).

But after the early members have been paid, they will now be the ones to help promote and get new members into the scheme so they can continue to get paid.

Then the money brought in by new members will be cycled around to payout older members who have already invested earlier, and then new members will also get paid later in the future with the money of other new people that will join after them.

Also read: How can I start a successful business

Unfortunately, the scammers behind these businesses are usually smart salesmen who know how to tell a good story and sell a dream.

So, what they will do is create a false business with an investment plan, then turn around and start convincing people to invest in it, believing that they will get their money back and make a large profit.

The trick here is that the ROI is usually high, very tempting, and hard to come by.

The returns can be as high as 50% to more than 100% profits within a very short period of time, like a month or couple of months.

These are results that you know cannot be gotten anywhere in a traditional investment plan, because most times the best you can get is around 5–7%, and this is depending on the investment vehicle you are using. If you go deeper enough, you could find smart investors that can do 9–12%, but that is it.

However, to the credit of this schemes, they usually try to put up the initial money to pay the early investors so that they can use their testimonials to lure others in.

Also read: 16 Big Websites To Make Money From Selling eBooks Online

The system of recruiting works 99% of the time, especially when it is someone you know and they have actually invested and are getting paid. Their words are usually strong and effective in inviting others to join the scheme.

And as long as enough people continue to join with more money, the scheme will continue to pay out the old investors.

The rug-pulling that always happens for every Ponzi scheme is when people stop joining and there is no longer enough money to offset earlier due payments.

When people stop receiving their due payouts, that is when they will wake up and realize that they have been played.

How to identify a Ponzi Schemes

There are many ways to identify these schemes, I will try to highlight some, but I will also warn that the people behind these schemes are getting smarter by the day and are beginning to cover some of their tracks.

So, while you read these methods, also continue to look out for other methods and, more importantly, use your intuition every time before making any bogus investment.

Too high Return on Investment

A high ROI should actually be the number one kicker when it comes to identifying a Ponzi Scheme.

Investing is said to be the surest path to wealth, however, the reason why many people still don’t invest is because it really takes time to start making anything worthwhile from investing.

Also read: How to Start a Successful Print on Demand Business

When you invest in a business or any assets, the essential thing you are saying is that you don’t have any urgent need for that money and that you believe investing it in a project or business will grow it over a period of time (many years).

When you invest, you are not expecting a quick return or even a large return in a short while, for that matter.

So, when you see any business that is promising you a very high ROI over a short period of time, you should be wary about it, it is most likely a Ponzi scheme or something worse.

An unclear investment asset

An unclear investment asset is also an easy way to spot Ponzi Schemes.

When the business you are investing in does not have a clear asset portfolio that will guarantee that it will make a lot more money than it is promising to pay, that in itself is a clear red flag that it is most likely a dubious business model.

There have been cases where the promoters of Ponzi schemes will tell prospects that the business makes its money through;

1. Trading of stocks 
2. Trading of cryptocurrency
3. Investments in agriculture
4. Investment in real estate
5. Loan arbitrage
6. Investment in crude oil and many others

However, if you inquire for more information, they will not be able to provide it and most likely they will become angry.

In most cases, they will be quick to dismiss you and say they don’t need your money anyway and that they are only trying to help you.

It is important that you do not fall for the reverse psychology of trying to feel insulted and unappreciated.

The trick is to make you feel bad for not trusting them, and then you will go ahead and give them your money. By the way, the profit is already very inviting.

***Please note that the above-mentioned businesses are all good businesses that are very profitable. However, in this case, the Ponzi Schemes are not actually into any of them, but will claim to be.

 Ponzi Schemes operate like MLMs.

Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) is in itself a very good business model, but don’t be deceived because many MLM schemes out there are all Ponzi Schemes.

Whenever, you notice or are told that your returns depend on you signing up new members, there is a high chance that it is a Ponzi Scheme.

Also read: How to Invest in an ICO: The Complete Guide

Because the whole operation of a Ponzi Scheme is the recycling of money, it is dependent on old members convincing and signing up new members (that will bring in new money).

If at any point the old members are no longer bringing in new members (new money), then the scheme will crash.

In this scheme, you will notice that they usually employ an aggressive campaign to try to recruit new members, and sometimes bonuses are promised to new members so as to encourage them to join.

 Inconsistent payout schedules

This is a critical factor to look out for if you have already joined the Scheme without knowing it.

You will notice that sometimes (or even frequently in most cases), there is an inconsistent payout of the promised returns.

When this happens, it could be as a result of insufficient new members joining the scheme, and thus there is not enough money to pay the old members.

If you notice this, just be aware of what you might be into and start making your exit plan.

Some popular schemes that have wiped out people’s money include:

Scheme	Founder	Value ($)	Date Ended	Origin
MMM	Sergei Mavrodi	10B	1994	Russia
Caritas	Ioan Stoica	1B- 5B	1994	Romania
Madoff Investment	Bernie Madoff	65B	2008	US
Stanford Financial Group	Allen Stanford	7B	2012	US
Mutual Benefits Company	Joel Steinger	1B	2003	US
Petters Group Worldwide	Tom Petters	4B	2003	US
Moneytron	Jean-Pierre van Rossem	860M	1991	Belgium
Great Ministries International	Geral payne	500M	1997	US

If you want to save yourself from any financial loss as regards Ponzi schemes, then re-read and make sure that you understand every point noted above.

PS: Please list other indicators that you have noticed (that were not listed above) in the comment sections and also share them with your family and friends so that they don’t lose their hard earned money to Ponzi schemes.

Continue reading: How Do Money Orders Work And Are Money Orders Safe?