Good morning folks. From time to time I like to remind friends and co-workers to keep tabs on their elderly relatives. My grandmother probably sent $10,000 to scammers over the years. I discussed that here in greater detail. This is the time of the year when real and fake charities are at it, so keep an eye out for scams.
Part two of the PSA:
Multi level marketing is a thinly-veiled pyramid scheme. Although legal, these often rely on playing fast and loose with current FCC/FTC regulations. This is not a legitimate business strategy. Only 1% of "consultants" ever make money from these operations, while the real earnings are sent up the... triangular structure. People are pressured to take advantage of personal relationships to recruit others to do the same. I'll share a personal anecdote below, but the FTC has a decent fact sheet here.
MLM companies often market to lower income brackets and people without business education. They'll make grand claims about how you can become an entrepreneur and own your own business, which sound great but are often far from the truth. Please don't get wrapped up in these scams. If a company has to tell you that they're not a pyramid scheme, then they're a pyramid scheme.
Another pet peeve of mine is pseudoscience, and some of these scams combine that with MLM. Doterra sells oils for medical benefits, although they get around the need to prove their efficacy by using the quack miranda warning. The company doesn't make medical claims about their products, but relies on their "consultants" to do so when marketing them. The same applies to It Works, which sells what amounts to plastic wrap that's infused with snake oil. Ridiculous.
Part two of the PSA:
Multi level marketing is a thinly-veiled pyramid scheme. Although legal, these often rely on playing fast and loose with current FCC/FTC regulations. This is not a legitimate business strategy. Only 1% of "consultants" ever make money from these operations, while the real earnings are sent up the... triangular structure. People are pressured to take advantage of personal relationships to recruit others to do the same. I'll share a personal anecdote below, but the FTC has a decent fact sheet here.
MLM companies often market to lower income brackets and people without business education. They'll make grand claims about how you can become an entrepreneur and own your own business, which sound great but are often far from the truth. Please don't get wrapped up in these scams. If a company has to tell you that they're not a pyramid scheme, then they're a pyramid scheme.
Another pet peeve of mine is pseudoscience, and some of these scams combine that with MLM. Doterra sells oils for medical benefits, although they get around the need to prove their efficacy by using the quack miranda warning. The company doesn't make medical claims about their products, but relies on their "consultants" to do so when marketing them. The same applies to It Works, which sells what amounts to plastic wrap that's infused with snake oil. Ridiculous.
