5 minutes to read. Published 03/18/2015

A pyramid scheme is a money-making scheme and profits are achieved by continually attracting new investors rather than by investing in income-producing assets. For its monetary prosperity, the pyramid releases securities, since they are the most liquid and very convenient instrument. If the amount of financial infusion into the system is less than the amount of income payments, then we are talking about a pyramid.

Signs of a financial pyramid

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

Signs of financial pyramids

• Illegality (no license).
• Concealment of financial information.
• Redistribution Money between project participants.
• The need to pay an entrance fee.
• The earnings of a project participant registered earlier are always higher than those of a lower level.
• Guarantee of fixed interest payment.
• The place of registration of the company is somewhere on the islands.

8 famous financial pyramids on the Internet

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

• MMM (founder Sergey Mavrodi)

The most massive pyramidal company was MMM JSC. The idea began to be promoted through advertising in the media. monetary mechanism is rapidly developing due to the joint stock company's promises to pay huge dividends.

The founder of the project, Sergei Mavrodi, is becoming a leading entrepreneur in Russia. Shares soar in price from 25 to 125 thousand rubles per unit, people rush to buy them. About 15 million people become investors. The system collapses in 1994. People are already paying 1000 rubles for a share, not 125 thousand.

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

• Legion Financial Group

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

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

The Legion operates affiliate program, due to which the investor also receives a percentage of the attracted capital. Income is also provided without your own investment.

• Financial group YES

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

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

“DA!Invest” invests the funds provided by investors into “DA!Credit” and other reliable, highly profitable areas of business.

• Rostfinance Perm

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

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

Rostfinance LLC Perm also facilitates loan repayment on terms favorable to clients. Provides financial and legal services: credit broker, payment of loans in any bank in Russia, correction and challenge credit history, legal assistance"Anti-collector".

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

QNET's field of activity is e-commerce: sales of personal care products, nutritional supplements, travel 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 worth 60-80 thousand rubles from the company. A client who invites one more person receives $200. All payments are made through an online wallet.

There are all the signs of a financial pyramid

1. Intrusive adware.
2. Lack of documents.
3. Incomprehensible diagrams.
4. The promise of fast and high earnings.
5. Conflicting products and entry fees.

• Financial pyramid Zeus

Business incubator Zevs 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 an HTTPS protocol and protection against DDoS attacks.

• Financial pyramid Crocus

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

Products of the group: microcredit and “co-financing” of loans.

What actually happens is this:

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

The essence of the scheme is that clients 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 investor money at 60% per annum. “NBF” consists of two parts: a microfinance organization and a collection agency.

The company raises money through a loan agreement with its collection agency.

Each of us makes the decision whether or not to invest in a particular project!

Last update: 02/21/2020

Reading time: 17 min. | Views: 11051

Hello, dear readers of the financial magazine “site”! Today we will tell you what a financial pyramid is, what signs financial pyramids have and how to recognize them at an early stage.

So, from this article you will learn:

• What is a financial pyramid and how does it work;
• The history of the pyramids;
• What types of financial pyramids exist and how to recognize them at an early stage;
• What is the difference between network marketing and a financial pyramid?
• and a lot of other useful information.

The article will be useful to everyone who is interested financial matters, as well as those who want not to lose money on such events. Don't waste time! Read the article right now.

About financial pyramids, what they are, what types they come in, the purpose of creating pyramids - read on

Financial Pyramide (from an economic point of view) - This a scheme specifically created to generate income by attracting more and more new participants.

In other words, those who joined the pyramid provide income to those who came into it earlier.

There are other schemes, when all funds are concentrated in only one person, who is the organizer of the pyramid.

In Russia, when most people mention a financial pyramid, what immediately comes to mind is MMM , which was actively promoted in the early nineties. When the pyramid collapsed, thousands of people were injured.

Most pyramids hide behind a mask in their activities investment, and charitable funds, companies, producing fictitious goods, give investors a promise to take money out of nowhere.

There are also another type of financial pyramid . It appears in some cases as a result of conducting ordinary business. This happens if the organizer of the activity incorrectly calculated the profitability. As a result, instead of profits, there are losses, and there is nothing to pay off with creditors and investors.

To ensure that the business stays afloat, and those to whom its owner owes money do not sue, new loans are taken out. The money received is used to pay off previously assumed obligations. It is not entirely correct to consider such a scheme as fraud; rather, it refers to illegal entrepreneurship.

Often scammers They cover up the pyramid by doing business. In this case, there may be a small payout, but it is always less than the main contributions to the pyramid itself. Most of the imaginary income consists of contributions from investors.

2. The history of financial pyramids 📚

The term « Financial pyramids» fraudulent schemes began to be called in England in the seventies. However, they appeared much earlier. The first pyramid (Organization of India Joint Stock Company) was created by John Law. to raise money for the development of Mississippi.

For the first time a structure similar to modern single-level pyramids appeared in 1919. The creator of the project was an American Charles Ponzi. It is by his name that such schemes are called today.

The deception was based on coupons, which, as it turned out, could not be sold for cash. The only thing that could be done with them was exchange. Nevertheless, the first participants in the pyramid received income, naturally, due to the influx of new investors.

Specialist in finance and economics.

In Russia, the peak of pyramid activity occurred during the transition to market economy. It was then that a huge scandal broke out with the MMM project.

Today, financial pyramids are prohibited in many countries. In the United United Arab Emirates, and also in China for creating a financial pyramid can be awarded death penalty. In Russia, such actions are punishable by criminal liability.

The main reasons for the creation of financial pyramids

3. 7 reasons for the emergence of financial pyramids 📎

Financial pyramids begin to form at the moment when a suitable political And economic situation.

The most important prerequisites for the emergence of such fraudulent schemes are:

1. low inflation;
2. the principles of a market economy must operate in the state;
3. there must be free circulation of securities in the country;
4. legislative regulation of the creation and operation of such structures is poorly developed, there are no corresponding norms;
5. rising income levels for the majority of the population;
6. citizens have available funds which they are willing to invest in various financial structures;
7. low level financial literacy population, as well as poor information support.

All these prerequisites encourage enterprising people to create financial pyramids that violate the laws of the country.

4. Goals of creating financial pyramids 📑

Financial pyramids are created with the aim of enriching their organizers and this happens due to the influx of new investors. Sometimes profits are also received by those who entered into this scheme in the early stages of the formation of the pyramid and then withdrew their funds on time.

Contributions (contributions) to a financial pyramid are never invested anywhere . They are used to pay rewards to the upper levels of participants.

In other words, those who have already joined the pyramid receive their money by attracting more and more new participants. Thus, it is beneficial for all investors to attract as many people as possible to the scheme. Only in this case will they make any profit.

That is why pyramids are gaining popularity so quickly and are highly widespread.

Sometimes, in order to cover up a financial pyramid, a certain product is created. However, this does not change the essence of the scheme. The product does not bring profit, it is formed exclusively due to contributions from new participants pyramids.

Despite the fact that incoming funds are distributed according to various schemes, the main principle of any pyramid is the constant attraction of new participants in as many numbers as possible.

Sooner or later, the influx of new investors dries up and at this moment there is nothing to make payments to the participants of the pyramid. The result is always the same - the pyramid is collapsing .

When entering a pyramid scheme, participants should be aware that not everyone will get their money back (not to mention any income). Those who enter the pyramid last will most likely lose all their investment.

Usually the owners of a fraudulent scheme, when they see that the influx of depositors has decreased, suspend payments. After this, they calmly collect the remainder of their accumulated funds and disappear in an unknown direction.

Specialist, analyst and financial literacy expert.

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That is why you should not expect to get rich by making dubious investments. It is difficult to determine at what stage a financial pyramid is and when it will collapse. That is, the risk of losing funds invested in a pyramid is always very high.

It is best to consider reliable and profitable investments. For example, they can bring much more income than unknown and high-risk financial instruments.

How a financial pyramid works - the main stages of creation

5. The principle of operation of a financial pyramid - 3 stages of the classic pyramid 📝

An understanding of financial pyramids would be incomplete without studying how they work. The easiest way to understand such a scheme is to consider the stages of the pyramid's existence using numerical values.

Stage No. 1. Creation of a pyramid (first level)

The organizer convinces 4 (four) participants to join the pyramid. At the same time, he takes from them 100$ as an entrance fee and promises to pay for each new participant 25$ .

Organizer's income at the first stage was 100 x 4 = 400$

Expenses are 0$

Stage No. 2. Creating the second level of the pyramid

Participants of the first level attract 4 (four) investors to the pyramid on the same conditions under which they came themselves. For each attracted investor, first-level participants receive 25$ .

Income at the second stage: 4 x 4 x 100 = $1,600

Total income since inception: 400 + 1,600 = 2 000$

Expenses: 4 x 4 x 25 = $400

Organizer's net profit: 2,000 – 400 = $1,600

Stage No. 3. Creation of the third level

All participants of the third level introduce 4 new investors into the pyramid (the conditions are the same).

Income at the third stage: 16 x 4 x 100 = $6,400

Total income since inception: 6,400 + 2,000 = 8 400$

Expenses: 16 x 4 x 25 = $2,000

Organizer's net profit: 8,400 – 2,000 = $6,400

This fundraising scheme can continue for a very long time. It is beneficial for the organizers that as many participants as possible join the pyramid, because their profit depends on this.

However, the faster the scheme in the pyramid develops, the faster it will collapse . This is due to the fact that number of potential investors always of course.

When the influx of new participants, and therefore funds, dries up, the organizers of the pyramid disappear with the money collected. this moment money.

Payments to investors stop and, as a result, those who entered the pyramid at the last stage are left with nothing.

However, in modern society similar schemes classic financial pyramid are rare. Thanks to the development of the Internet, more and more new options for deception are appearing. Therefore, in order to avoid becoming victims of scammers, it is worth carefully studying the signs of financial pyramids.

Main signs of a financial pyramid

6. 20 signs of how to spot a financial pyramid 📊

Often, newcomers to the field of investing are convinced that they invest capital in projects that are distinguished by development prospects, stability and high income. However, upon detailed analysis of investments, it turns out that they are investing their money into a regular financial pyramid.

As a result, most novice investors lose very quickly own funds . To avoid becoming a victim and getting into such a situation, it is important to learn recognize fraudulent schemes. This cannot be done without knowing the main features of financial pyramids.

Today for a reason global development Internet financial pyramids are widespread. Online every day are being created And are collapsing a huge number of pyramids. At the same time, there are so-called offline pyramids that are not connected to the Internet.

Some pyramids are created by restarting previously existing projects. In this case, the circuit burns out, the accounts are reset, and the process begins again. There are often situations when the owners of one, already collapsed pyramid, create a new one, just changing its name.

Many creators of modern pyramids came from the famous MMM-2011 scheme. These projects have a huge number of names. But it is worth remembering that hype, and matrices, and for many other schemes there are signs of financial pyramids.

Daily in the mail in social networks, on Skype, people find a huge number of offers to join various highly profitable projects. You can also find calls for participation in pyramid schemes on sites with job offers, as well as projects dedicated to making money online.

We wrote about it in our last article, where we considered only reliable and proven ways to make money online.

It cannot be said that everyone who entered the pyramid mandatory will lose their capital, since those who enter the scheme earlier than others manage to earn decent money.

However Do not forget that the percentage of getting into their number is very small, because the share of those who made a profit in the total number of participants is very small. Therefore, in order to recognize in advance whether a project is a financial pyramid, it is important to know their distinctive features. They will be discussed below.

Sign 1. High level of promised income

Experienced investors know that investments are under 25-35% per annum can already be called quite risky. If such profitability is promised in a month, there are clear signs of a pyramid scheme.

Sign 2. The condition for generating income is to attract new participants

This sign clearly indicates that the project is a financial pyramid. Sometimes companies hide behind the fact that they act as financial pyramids.

However, we should not forget about the essence of the action of such schemes: new participants are needed so that their contributions go to the income of old participants and to ensure profit for the organizers.

Sign 3. The income payment scheme is vague or too abstruse

In other words, the investor is promised huge profits, which can be obtained by fulfilling certain conditions. Moreover, all the necessary conditions contain a huge number of points.

It is clear that in such cases there will certainly be a reason fail to pay funds, referring to the fact that one of the points of the agreement has not been fulfilled.

Sign 4. Guarantee of income

None of the investment methods can guarantee that the investor will receive income. Therefore, if advertising guarantees income, and even a very high one, this may indicate the presence of signs of a pyramid in the company’s actions.

Sign 5. Income to investors is paid thanks to new members of the company

This feature follows from the scheme of the pyramid. Since there is no real profit, the only way to pay out income is to attract new investors.

Sign 6. Forced to make periodic contributions or buy company products

If, in order to participate in investing, a company requires regular deposit money or buy goods they don’t need at high prices, which means the organization does not make a profit from its activities. It is kept afloat only thanks to contributions from participants in the scheme.

Sign 7: The product is fake or overpriced

This sign allows you to figure out whether the company is a financial pyramid or simply operates within the framework of network marketing. In the latter case it extends real product at real prices.

We wrote in detail about the principle of operation and what it is in a separate article.

Pyramid sells something like Cuban berries, which, after picking, are sent to Japan, where they make a squeeze out of it, which is infused in Italy. The result is a product that allows you to quickly lose weight and costs 399$ for 100 grams.

In practice, at best, they sell an infusion of ordinary field herbs. Such sales clearly indicate the presence of fraudulent schemes.

Sign 8. Continuous motivation

The creators of pyramids constantly convince their investors that work is akin to slavery, every adequate person strives to receive passive income, to financial independence. The founders claim that their company allows them to free themselves from employers; for this it is enough to work in a friendly team and for its benefit. What it really is and how it can be created, you can read in our article.

This motivation puts the strongest psychological pressure on anyone who has even minor financial difficulties. Seeing appeals as an ideal way to earn money, people donate their funds to the company.

In practice, make money on pyramids fails practically no one. Only the creators, as well as their immediate circle, which is usually located at the upper levels of the scheme, can receive money. And they will only earn money if they are not held accountable.

Sign 9. Ads that do not contain specific information

Sign 10. Calls to rush to invest funds

Such slogans hint that only the first investors will be able to earn real money.

Before investing your money, you need to carefully consider all the details of investing and under no circumstances rush into investing. We also recommend reading our material “”, which discusses the main and proven methods of investing.

Sign 11. Calls to act now

This sign is very similar to the previous one. Slogans to join the project Today, in a week and the like have the purpose psychological pressure. They put pressure on the subconscious, hinting that the tempting offer will end in the near future. It is better to stay away from such slogans.

Sign 12. Information is contained only in video presentations

Most often different video messages, presentations, meeting recordings And seminars, showing a huge number of participants and the distribution of money, are a clear sign of pyramids. For the first time, Sergei Mavrodi used such methods of attracting investors in our country.

It should be remembered that real investment companies use a much wider arsenal of ways to talk about themselves and attract clients.

Sign 13. Anonymity

Information about the creators of the project is not advertised anywhere, they are simply missing, find out who created and manages the project almost impossible.

Sometimes financial pyramids refer to the fact that such information constitutes a trade secret.

Sign 14. To find out details about the project, you need to attend a seminar or meeting

Potential investors are attracted to a variety of events. Sometimes this method of attraction is also used by network marketing companies, as well as financial brokers.

However, in combination with other signs from the list, such actions indicate the construction of a pyramid. Moreover, in the case of pyramids, meeting participants are actively persuaded to invest money using various psychological techniques.

Sign 15. Reference in the contract to the company’s lack of obligation to return the funds invested in it

The creators of pyramids are usually quite well versed in legal terms. Therefore, insuring themselves against various legal proceedings, they agree to exclude clauses on the company's obligations to investors, as well as money-back guarantees.

Often, when investing in pyramid schemes, investments are formalized as donations or voluntary contributions. At the same time, investors are told that there is no other way to formalize investments and various legal reasons. However, such tricks should alert investors, as they clearly indicate the financing of the pyramid.

Sign 16. The company is registered abroad, usually offshore

You can often come across proposals to invest profitable foreign companies. Registration at a distance from Russia may indicate a pyramid, since it will be almost impossible to hold the company (organization) accountable.

Sign 17. There is no company at all

In this case entity doesn't register at all. A certain number of ordinary private (individuals) exchange funds.

True, in such schemes, the project owners do not try to hide the fact that they have organized an ordinary financial pyramid.

Sign 18. There are no licenses to carry out financial activities

In Russia, only those companies that have received a license for such activities can attract funds from individuals. Its absence indicates the illegality of the activity.

Sign 19. Investors are not warned about risks

Any investment option is accompanied by risks. Companies should warn investors about this. Therefore, if risk warning absent or the investor is promised a risk-free investment, we can say with almost certainty that this is a financial pyramid.

Sign 20. Prohibition of disclosing secrets

If an investor is asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement about trade secrets about the investment made and the terms of the investment, a financial pyramid is most likely taking place. Honest companies are unlikely to hide such information.

There are quite a few signs of financial pyramids, but it is not at all necessary that they be present all at once. But the presence of any sign does not necessarily mean that the company is a financial pyramid. The main thing is that the manifestation of such signs should alert investors.

It is also important to know that most modern pyramids disguise themselves as the following organizations:

• investment firms;
• financial companies;
• organizations whose activities are related to network marketing;
• brokers.

It is important for a novice investor to learn how to determine whether a project is a financial pyramid.

7. Types of financial pyramids (single-level, multi-level, matrix) 📄

All fraud schemes based on the principles of a pyramid, in accordance with their inherent construction structure, can be divide into 3 (three) groups. Some creators assure that they were able to create high-quality new scheme. However, upon careful analysis, any of them can be classified into one of the groups presented below.

1st type of financial pyramids - single-level

7.1. Single-level pyramids or Ponzi scheme

This type of pyramid is considered the simplest and therefore the most common. The name Ponzi scheme comes from the name of an Italian fraudster who first managed to deceive the population Thus.

In this case, the organizer of the pyramid attracts participants to it, guaranteeing a quick and large profit. In this case, it is enough to make a contribution; there is no need to attract new participants.

The owner of the scheme pays income to the first investors from his own funds. When the fame of the pyramid begins to grow, the funds of new investors go to reward the old ones. As a result, the glory of the project as bringing real income inevitably growing . Consequently, the number of participants increases. Many investors make additional contributions.

Personal finance and investment specialist.

Such pyramids most often position themselves as charitable or investment funds, as well as mutual assistance projects. Naturally, this is just a cover; in reality, no activity is being carried out.

Inevitably in the process of developing a financial pyramid there comes a time when obligations to a huge number of participants constantly increase, and the entry of new investors into the scheme decreases. At this time, the project owner completes the activity and disappears with the collected money.

The lifespan of such a pyramid is determined by how popular it is. Usually it is from 4 to 24 months. After the collapse of the pyramid, the profits remain no more than 20% all investors.

There are several examples of pyramids built according to the Ponzi scheme:

• MMM, created by Sergei Mavrodi;
• a project to finance the creation of drugs to combat AIDS from Tannenbaum;
• iPhone pyramid;
• and others.

7.2. Multi-level financial pyramids

2nd type of financial pyramids - multi-level

The structure of such a pyramid is similar to the structure of network marketing companies. Such pyramids are usually hidden behind trading activities or high-yield investment.

However, even if the product exists, it is different low quality And not worth the price set for it. Such products are designed to divert the attention of investors, where such structures usually promise income at a level exceeding 100% per annum and achieving 450-500% .

Each participant entering the project must pay an entry fee. Funds received in this way distributed among participants , located at higher levels - those who invited the newcomer and several standing above him.

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Next, the new participant must attract several new ones to the structure. Most often, you need to bring from 2 (two) to 5 (five) investors. To do this, they directly or covertly tell him that the project needs new participants, and only if they are attracted, the investor will begin to receive income, gradually recouping the invested funds and turning a profit.

It turns out that just like in Ponzi scheme, money is redistributed among investors. The number of levels gradually increases, while the number of participants increases exponentially.

At approximately level 10-15, the number of investors can be equal to the population of the entire state.

Sooner or later there will come a time when there will simply be no one else to attract. It was at this time that the organizer curtails the project and disappears with all the money collected. As a result about 90% investors lose all their investments.

Multi-level financial pyramids have not existed for long. Most often, their collapse occurs no later than six months from the moment of creation. To extend the life of the pyramid, the organizers change its name, location or go online.

The most famous structures of this type are:

• Talk Fusion;
• MMM 2011 and 2012;
• Binar.

7.3. Matrix type financial pyramids

Such pyramids are complex multi-level structures. Here very often there is a real product, for example, precious metals , teas for weight loss or fictional paid programs for training aspiring businessmen.

3rd type of financial pyramids - matrix projects

Despite the fact that such companies are classified as pyramid schemes, many sincerely believe that this is a new type of investment.

The operating scheme of such companies is approximately as follows:

1. The participant pays when joining the project an initial fee. After that, he waits until the entire level is filled.
2. As soon as the lower level is filled, the matrix will be divided into two identical ones, and our participant will rise one level up.
3. Now we need to attract more participants to fill the lower level.
4. Thus, further division of the matrices gradually takes place, and the participant will gradually rise higher.
5. As soon as a participant reaches the first level in his matrix, he will be paid a reward. This could be money or a commodity, such as a gold bar. If desired, the product can be sold to the company itself.

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In essence, it turns out that during the creation of a matrix pyramid, lower-level participants chip in to buy a gift for a first-level participant. Each lower level member gradually moves up. To speed up this process, it can help attract new investors.

It's important to understand , that in the conditions of matrix-type pyramids it is very vaguely indicated how to receive the due reward. Most often it is indicated here that for this you need to wait until the matrix is ​​filled. However, it is unclear when this will happen and whether it will happen at all.

However, matrix pyramids last longer than others. But don't get your hopes up: collapse will definitely happen to them too.

To conclude this section, let’s compare three (3) types of pyramids. For convenience, we present the comparison results in a table.

Feature for comparison	Single level pyramid	Multi-level pyramid	Matrix pyramid
Structure	The project owner is at the center. Deposits arrive to him up to a certain point, and it is he who distributes the rewards.	Several participants. The pyramid organizer interacts only with the first level, but oversees the activities of the entire pyramid.	The central link is several active participants. They are interested in newcomers as long as they bring new investors.
Source of profit	Investment and charitable projects.	Exclusively entry fees for new members. The pyramid structure can be disguised by sales of various products.	Only contributions from entering depositors. To show off, complicated schemes for selling a product are used.
Validity	Depends solely on the persuasive capabilities that are inherent in the organizer.	The collapse comes very quickly, as the pyramid grows at an accelerated pace.	It can be quite lengthy, because the exact timing of filling out the matrices is unknown.

As can be seen from the table, the pyramids fall apart in any case. Therefore, we recommend that you approach investing your money more carefully and choose the most reliable ones. For example, it is better to choose than to invest in HYIPs or other dubious projects.

8. What is the difference between a financial pyramid and network marketing companies 📋

Many people believe that network marketing And financial pyramids — the same phenomenon. This is due to the fact that in a superficial comparison these two concepts have certain common features. However, it is important for investors to learn to differentiate between them.

Network Marketing Is a Legitimate Option promotion of goods from producers to consumers, while eliminating several intermediate intermediaries. In such structures, the income of each participant is based on the amount of goods that his wards will be able to sell.

It turns out that if participants in the scheme do not buy or sell anything, but simply register, they do not receive income. At the same time, registration in network marketing companies absolutely free or the entrance fee is very small - up to 500 (five hundred) rubles.

Problems often begin in situations where a pyramid scheme tries to disguise itself as network marketing. To determine what kind of company it is, it is important to look for signs of financial pyramids, which we described above in the article.

Types of financial pyramids on the Internet - magic wallets and HYIPs

9. Financial pyramids on the Internet (online) - HYIPs and wallets 💸💻

The development of the Internet makes it much easier create And develop financial pyramids. This allows you to expand the geographic coverage of potential investors. At the same time, significantly decreased advertising expenses.

The development of the pyramid structure is facilitated by the difficulty of tracking the movement of funds through electronic systems for payments.

Sites are rarely registered with real persons, or information about the owner is hidden. When creating pyramids on the Internet, when they collapse, it is difficult to find the fraudster in order to bring him to justice.

The largest financial pyramid on the Internet – Stock Generation. Its organizer is the well-known Sergei Mavrodi. It represented a certain game of chance. In accordance with the terms of this game, shares of non-existent virtual companies were traded.

The conditions were similar to stock trading: The stock price moved both up and down. The pyramid existed for 2 (two) years. After it collapsed, a huge number of people suffered: according to various sources, from 300 (three hundred) thousand to several million people.

Another very large projects from Mavrodi – pyramids MMM-2011 And 2012 . For the purpose of their creation, the “Mavro” was invented, which is a virtual currency.

In the first project it was bought and sold through members running the levels.

In the second– settlements were carried out directly between the participants of the pyramid, the essence of the project was reduced to a mutual aid fund. Naturally, the influx of participants and cash contributions faded away. Money from the pyramids began to be stolen, the pyramids began to close.

Mavrodi tried to restart the project several times. However, trust in the creator decreased significantly, so the size of the pyramids became much smaller.

Internet pyramids are very diverse and the most popular among them are 2 (two) groups: hype , and magic wallets . Let's try to understand the features of each of these schemes.

9.1. HYIPs (type of financial pyramid)

HYIPs, or in other words, HYIP projects, are investment projects that promise high returns. HYIPs are built on the principle of a financial pyramid.

Such projects are covered by investments in securities, mutual funds, sometimes they claim that they are engaged trust management. In some cases, the organizers of HYIPs do not report anything at all about what activities they are carrying out.

Some Internet users have the opinion that you can make good money by investing in HYIPs, the main thing is to invest correctly. Moreover, There are publications on the Internet, in which participants in such projects describe in detail the correct strategies for investing in HYIPs. They tell you how to invest in such a way as to exit the project on time (before the hype collapses) and make a significant profit.

But don't forget that similar Internet projects organized according to the principle of conventional pyramids. They inevitably go through all the stages of development inherent in pyramids. Therefore, sooner or later, the hype inevitably collapses.

In pyramids, funds are transferred from one participant to another, so perhaps someone will be able to make money on HYIPs. However, they will do this at the expense of contributions from new investors. Moreover, the percentage of lucky ones is very low. Anyway most of the contributions will end up in the pockets of the pyramid organizers .

HYIPs are similar to some real companies and financial instruments. For example, there are funds on the Internet that are one of many investment methods. These companies are engaged in real investment of capital in financial instruments that have high level income. Just like HYIPs, these are high risk.

It turns out that these two types of companies are very similar and it is important for investors to be able to distinguish between them. There are a number of features that are characteristic of HYIP projects, but not inherent in venture funds.

Among them are the following:

• investment objects are fictitious or do not correspond to reality;
• the site is designed too colorfully;
• the essence of the project is blurred, it is not entirely clear what it is;
• too intrusive advertising, claiming that the return of funds is guaranteed, there is no risk of investment, too aggressively convincing to invest funds;
• it is impossible to find the organizer’s details - company name, address, phone number, who is in charge;
• there is no information about the availability of licenses, registration certificates, or these documents are false;
• the promised level of income exceeds 1-2% per day, however, there are HYIPs where this figure is equal to 0,5% , this sign cannot be applied to them;
• vague or too complex conditions for making a profit.

To transfer funds to HYIPs, they usually use electronic wallets in which you do not need to identify a person, for example, Qiwi, Perfect Money, Payeer. As a result, it becomes almost impossible to calculate the real data of the counterparty.

Anything that implies at least minimal personal identification is not acceptable for hype. Almost all such projects are for this reason refuse use payment system WebMoney.

Depending on the level of income, three categories of HYIPs can be distinguished:

9.1.1. Low income

The lifespan of such financial pyramids is from one and a half to three years. At the same time, the promised income is at a level not exceeding 15% per month. Many HYIPs of this type promise to pay 0.5% per day.

Traditionally, pyramids of this type are covered by companies that carry out the functions trust management various assets. At the same time, it is often quite difficult to distinguish low-income HYIPs from legal schemes.

9.1.2. Average income

The lifespan of financial pyramids created in the form of medium-income HYIPs is from 6 (six) to 12 (twelve) months. The yield here is significantly higher than in the previous category and is about 3% per day. Per month, when investing in such HYIPs, profitability is promised at the level 15-60% .

Such financial pyramids are characterized by rapid growth in popularity. This means that its peak will be reached very quickly, that is, the collapse of the pyramid will not be long in coming.

9.1.3. Highly profitable

Such financial pyramids are developing rapidly. Approximately for 2-5 weeks they go all the way life cycle. At the same time, the promised profitability exceeds 3% per day or more than 60% per month.

Slogans guarantee huge income for investors if they register “here and now”.

For the creation and successful functioning of HYIPs, not only their organizers, but also referral guides. This concept unites persons who are involved in the promotion of the pyramid. They spread the word about the creation of the project.

Besides, the most important task of referral guides is the agitation of network users to join the hype, that is, attracting as many new investors as possible.

It is the competent actions of referees that determine the further success of the project. They act as agents of a financial pyramid. Therefore, cooperation between the pyramid organizers and referral guides is carried out by concluding an agency agreement.

Interaction is carried out through all sorts of means, that is, referral leaders earn money in the form of a percentage of the contributions of the investors they attract. This easily explains why referral leaders are so actively promoting HYIPs.

They post colorful and detailed stories (most often, of course, fictional), about how they hit the jackpot by joining the project. This is done by referral guides on various blogs, social networks, and also on forums.

Investor, develops his online business and is a professional personal finance coach.

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Often, the organizers of HYIPs offer their participants to independently search for new investors using a referral program. As a result, the speed of HYIP promotion on the Internet increases, providing a significant influx of funds.

By analogy with a pyramid, during the growing popularity of a hype project, its participants are paid the promised rewards. This efficient operation continues for some time. At a certain point, the flow of income begins to decline, the influx of money becomes less than the volume of payments. This becomes a signal for the organizers that it is time to wind down the project. The hype is closed, and the sums of money collected by this time remain with its creators.

Thus, You can make money on HYIPs, but remain in profit project creators, those who is actively promoting it, and investors who managed to collect their money on time.

However, the number of winners is negligible compared to the number of participants who, as a result, lose their funds.

9.2. Magic wallets are a special type of financial pyramid

IN Lately There is a curious way of making money online, which is called "magic wallets".

The essence of the earning method is quite simple: you should send a small sum of money (most often from 10 to 70 rubles) for seven wallets. For this purpose, systems are usually used electronic money Yandex And WebMoney. After this, you should delete the top wallet number and enter your own instead.

Many people believe that if all actions are done correctly, it is enough about 100(one hundred) or 200(two hundred) messages so that huge sums begin to arrive in your wallet. This is explained simply: the next people who join the project will transfer money to the wallet, after which they will also begin to actively promote the message.

In reality, it turns out that the system of operation of magic wallets is an ordinary financial pyramid. However, it is not subject to any control.

It is almost impossible to make money this way. Firstly, there is no guarantee that those who decide to continue the chain of messages will send money to previous wallets. Secondly, they can cross out not just one wallet number, as stated in the instructions, but more by entering their own numbers instead.

But even if we assume that each subsequent participant will do everything according to the instructions, the pyramid will grow at a tremendous pace. Even the population of the entire planet Earth will not be enough to cover 4-5 of its levels.

In theory, of course, the first participant through 2-3 levels can earn about a million rubles, and this is provided that each new participant will be able to attract 5 people. However, in practice this situation absolutely unrealistic due to the same lack of participants.

Thus, you definitely won’t be able to get rich using magic wallets. Moreover, electronic payment systems make every effort to combat such schemes. They may well block wallets specified in advertising (spam) messages.

Services involved in security and financial monitoring in electronic payment systems carefully monitor the appearance of such messages on the network.

Within a few days, for this reason, the pyramids cease to exist.

Financial pyramids - list of new and old

10. List of old and new financial pyramids in Russia - from MMM Mavrodi to the newest 📜

In Russia, the first financial pyramids appeared after the collapse Soviet Union. In the first years of the transition to a market economy, a huge part of the country's population suffered from them.

Many consider the largest and most notorious pyramid JSC "MMM". The date of creation of the company is considered to be 1989. However, at that time she was conducting completely legal activities.

In 1994, JSC MMM began to operate according to a financial pyramid scheme. Project organizer – Sergey Mavrodi began actively issuing 2 (two) types of securities:

1. shares were issued almost 27 million;
2. tickets were also released - more 72 million.

In means mass media There was active advertising of the company (pyramid). Everyone who was of conscious age at that time remembers advertising about Lena Golubkov. This, as well as promises to investors of returns in the amount of from 500 (five hundred) to 1000 (thousand)% brought a huge number of investors into the pyramid. According to rough estimates, about 10-15 million Russian citizens.

Depositors were not given any documents at all; there was no free sale of MMM company securities. In fact, only the company itself could purchase them. The price of securities was set directly by the organizer.

Around the MMM pyramid arose unprecedented excitement, which led to a sharp increase in the price of the company's securities. As a result, in a short time the shares, whose nominal value was 1000 (one thousand) rubles, began to cost 125 000 rubles per piece. Naturally, the real price for them was much lower.

Information began to spread among investors that the organizer of MMM Mavrodi has problems with law. He was accused of conducting illegal entrepreneurial activity, as well as problems with tax authorities.

Panic grew among the population. As a result, the price of securities started to fall sharply. As a result, they became about a hundred times cheaper. In fact, the securities of MMM JSC have become useless, worthless “candy wrappers”.

The result was the storming of the MMM company office, where Mavrodi was arrested. The organizer of the pyramid was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison. The damage suffered by the population of the country from the actions of the entrepreneur amounts to about 3 (three) billion rubles.

At the same time, Mavrodi managed shift the blame for the collapse of the pyramid onto the state. He argued that a successful company that promised wealth to many citizens was purposefully destroyed.

Subsequently, Sergei Mavrodi created other financial pyramids:

• Stock Generation, which operated on the Internet;
• MMM-2011;
• MMM Global Republic of Bitcoin.

Due to the resounding success of the MMM financial pyramid in Russia in 90s (nineties) and 2000s (two thousand) Other similar projects have been created over the years.

The most popular among them were:

• Vlastilina;
• Ruby (SAN);
• Russian House Selenga;
• Khoper-invest;
• Tibet.

Number of victims of financial pyramids There were millions of people living in Russia. In each of the schemes, citizens lost from several million to several trillion rubles.

Almost all the organizers of financial pyramids were imprisoned; some managed to escape in an unknown direction.

Despite the disastrous consequences of the pyramids' activities during that period, they continued to exist.

This is explained quite simply: Most people want to get rich without doing anything for it. Since almost all people are quite greedy and gullible, ready to invest in any projects that promise unprecedented profits.

The development of the Internet also played a huge role in the existence of financial pyramids. Through the network it is much easier to carry out advertising campaigns, as well as take part in various projects. For investors, pyramids can be compared to casinos: it is almost impossible to guess whether he will win or lose money.

List of new financial pyramids that are popular:

• MMM 2012 and 2016;
• Super Piggy Bank;
• Recycles;
• Eleurus;
• Credex and others.

Due to the huge number of victims of financial pyramids in Russia, the legislation was revised.

Today, for the organization and dissemination of such schemes, a criminal And administrative responsibility.

Finance specialist.

Ask a Question

Experts recommend calming down first, since in this case it is difficult for a person to assess the situation and make the right decision. Next, you should conduct a thorough analysis of the current situation and accept necessary measures with her permission.

Professionals suggest taking the following measures:

1. Contact the office of the company to which the funds were transferred. In cases where this is impossible for some reason, you should contact the person from whom you received the invitation to join the project. It is important to understand that the likelihood of a return on investment is higher if there are any documents confirming the transfer of money.
2. If scammers refuse to return the invested funds, you should notify them of the intention to file statements with the prosecutor's office and the police.
3. If the threats have no effect, You must immediately contact law enforcement agencies. At the same time, it is necessary to recall as much known information as possible: the name and address of the company, detailed characteristics of the persons with whom the communication took place, what promises they make, what they sell, and other useful data.

Important! Write a statement as quickly as possible, since there is a high probability that by the time law enforcement agencies begin to take action on it, the scammers will have already disappeared.

12. Conclusion + video on the topic 🎥

Despite the huge number of victims of investing in financial pyramids, people continue to invest money in such schemes. Some people do not know about the possibility of fraud, others expect to withdraw funds before the collapse. In any case, it is useful for every investor to know what signs indicate financial pyramids.

If it turns out that funds have already been contributed to the fraudulent scheme, you should try to get your money back without unnecessary panic.

We invite you to watch the video - “What is a financial pyramid?”:

In conclusion, we suggest watching a documentary about MMM:

The site magazine team wishes you good luck and success in your financial affairs. If you have any comments or questions on the topic, please ask them in the comments below.

Financial Pyramide- a common phrase that appears in hearing from time to time. Having heard it, many will remember MMM, the story of Bernard Madoff and other examples. However, these are only examples, and a general view of what financial pyramids are and what they are like is rare.

It must be said that there is no established and universal definition of financial pyramids, and often one can only find descriptions like “uncontrolled investment schemes” or “unsustainable business models.” What this “instability” consists of and why it arises, we will explain in this article.

There is a lot of history known financial pyramids, which were presented under certain signs, and the structure of which at first glance seems very diverse. However, everyone financial pyramids there is a common characteristic principle that also explains why they all eventually collapse.

The general principle of financial pyramids is the “bag game”

So, main feature financial pyramids is that in the course of their work cash deposits participants are simply redistributed. In other words, the funds that participants invest in the pyramid do not participate in the production of goods or services, and therefore the total amount of funds always remains equal to the total deposits - only the owners of the funds change. It simply looks like collecting money in a bag, and then sequentially distributing these funds to the participants in the game according to certain rules. It is clear that all participants will benefit from such games "in the sack" they cannot: in the best case, everyone can stay with their own, but more often the pyramids are designed in such a way that the first participants receive more than they invested, and therefore the last ones simply have nothing left. Now it becomes clear why any financial pyramids sooner or later they must collapse - it is impossible to make everyone richer simply by transferring funds.

Arrange such games "in the sack" is considered fraud and is illegal in most countries (including Russia and Ukraine). However, financial pyramids under one guise or another arise despite the restrictions of the law - why? Most of the organizers of financial pyramids use the promise of very high profits to attract players, and the participants in the game, because of their gullibility, fall for this bait, without checking the legality of the game, and often do not even understand that they are participating in a game of “sack” with an inevitable ending.

Two main types of financial pyramids

All financial pyramids can be divided into 2 types:

— multi-level pyramids;
— .

Multi-level pyramid

This scheme is based on the fact that each new participant in the pyramid, a novice, first makes his entrance fee. This fee is immediately divided between the participant who invited the newcomer, as well as those who invited the inviter, i.e. earlier participants in the pyramid. After the entry fee, the newcomer must invite two more or more people, whose entry fees will already go to his benefit and to the benefit of earlier participants. This continues from level to level.

Depending on the rules pyramids: the amount of the entrance fee and the number of new participants that each “newbie” must bring - the promised income may vary, but they are usually quite large.

The amount of entry fee and the number of participants a newbie must bring varies depending on the rules of the pyramid. So, for example, if according to the rules you need to invite 3 people, and the entry fee is 1000 rubles, and this fee is divided in half in favor of the inviter and the one who brought the inviter into the game, then simple arithmetic suggests that if successful you will spend 1000 rub. to “entrance” and in the end you will receive 6,000 rubles. (1500 from the three participants you invite and another 4500 from the 9 they invite). Thus, the profitability of the scheme will be 500%, which is compared to bank deposit really impressive.

However, we discussed at the beginning why any game "in the sack" ends. The reason why it's collapsing multi-level pyramid, is that the number of participants in the scheme must grow very quickly (exponentially) for it to work. At such a fast pace, often even the entire population of the country is not enough to provide the first 10-15 stages of new participants. It is not surprising that as a result, those who paid their entry fee, but did not find new participants, receive nothing. According to statistics, the participants who are left with nothing are usually more than 80-90%.

Financial pyramid - Ponzi scheme

The scheme received its name from the American Charles Ponzi, who organized this type of pyramid in the United States back in the early 1920s. Although similar schemes had been known before, it was Charles Ponzi's scheme that first involved so many people that it became widely publicized in the United States.

The essence of this type of game “in the bag” is that its organizer invites participants to invest money and at the same time promises a very high and often “guaranteed” income after short period of time. There is no need to attract new participants - you just need to wait. The organizer pays the first few participants high interest rates income from their personal funds, after which usually rumors about a “working” scheme with excellent returns spread, and new investors themselves go to the organizer. Then the organizer simply pays old investors with funds that come from new ones - game "in the sack" works. It is clear that as the first participants actually receive the promised income, the number of applicants grows, and in addition, old participants begin to invest again - the organizer experiences an increase in the influx of funds.

Financial Pyramide The so-called Ponzi scheme ends for a simple reason: each investor expects to receive more than he invested, while the organizer receives no other income except these contributions - thus the scheme is doomed to collapse. Usually the organizer himself understands this best, so often at the moment when the flow of new depositors begins to “weaken,” the organizer appropriates all the deposits already made and disappears.

Interestingly, the widely known MMM and the investment company of Bernard Medoff used Ponzi schemes.

Comparison of Ponzi scheme and multi-level pyramid

In principle, both schemes are a redistribution of funds, only with different rules and speed of outcome. Here are the main differences:

For a snack

Organizers financial pyramids are quite creative in how they can present the game of “sack” in order to convince people to participate in it. Thus, the organizers of multi-level pyramids, in order to disguise the essence of the game, often come up with additional attributes of a “serious matter”. For example, trading goods 1 or even growing flowers.

The author of this article knows one interesting Ponzi scheme, in which participants were asked to invest money not in magical funds or projects, but simply to grow unique flowers. At the presentation, potential participants were told that some scientists have developed amazing flowers that help in the treatment of serious diseases. Currently, there are few such flowers and therefore they are very expensive. Participants were offered unique opportunity grow these flowers at home.

Each participant had to buy seeds from the organizing company at a price of $500 apiece, and then plant a flower at home, which after 3 months grew and the organizing company was ready to buy it back at a price of $1000. Information about wonderful flowers and the income from growing them spread very quickly and soon many were queuing for $500 seeds.

It is clear that the organizing company paid the first participants from funds received from the sale of seeds to new flower lovers. At some point, the organizers felt that the “boom” of new participants had passed and that an influx of participants with already grown flowers would soon begin. The organizers decided to maximize profits and disappeared.

1 It should be noted that in this way the organizers disguised as legitimate network marketing schemes, which are not fraudulent, as they provide certain services for the distribution of goods. Explicit hallmark financial pyramids disguised by the distribution of goods, is often that the goods themselves are worth much less than the entry fees of new participants. That is, goods are just “chips” in the game of “bag”.

The history of the concept of “financial pyramid” begins from the time when distrust in banks appeared. Having studied the banking sector, it became clear how money is made out of thin air. To do this, it was only necessary to create a constant flow of funds in the system, which would further redistribute funds between participants, giving everyone the opportunity to earn money. Owners have the right to use other people's money, and investors benefit in the form of profits.

It seems that everything is beautiful and simple - and partly it is. We conducted extensive research and tried to answer frequently asked questions. Therefore, it makes sense to talk further about what are the signs of a financial pyramid, what it is, its types and how it works.

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What is a financial pyramid

is an organization whose profit is generated by the constant influx of new funds in the absence of any real activity or product. In short, this is a fraudulent organization that offers to place investments under "Draconian" percentage of profits, guaranteeing quick earnings. The company does not produce a product or service, but provides profits to early participants at the expense of late ones. Thus, there is a banal transfer of money from one hand to another. We recommend watching an excellent documentary that examines this definition.

However, under such conditions it is impossible to work forever, which provokes a sad outcome of events for everyone - the cessation of payments. When the outflow of funds exceeds the inflow, the organizers of financial pyramids close the project. Therefore, these types of schemes are generally considered fraudulent, despite the fact that at times such “companies” receive incredibly large sums. The most famous and once reliable investment company in Russia in the 90s, which in fact turned out to be fraudulent, is the financial pyramid “MMM” by Sergei Mavrodi. The film talks about this, but we will look at this in detail later.

History of financial pyramids

"Tulip Fever"

The first and also the largest financial pyramid in history, rightfully deserving of its title, is the Dutch “tulip fever”, which spread in the 17th century. The excitement was excessive. “Tulip exchanges” were even created, where entire fortunes were earned through speculation. One bulb of a unique variety could easily be exchanged for an expensive house. The market collapsed in 1637, but even to this day nothing has recreated a rush of this magnitude for an unbacked resource.

"Mississippi Company"

The tulip fever was not essentially a pyramid scheme, because there was no need to attract new money. The first financial pyramid was created by John Law, forming an open Joint-Stock Company called the Mississippi Company. The company attracted new contributions from shareholders, which were to be used to colonize French territories located on the Mississippi River. At the same time, the shares were not distributed among a narrow circle of people, but everyone could purchase them. The success was incredible and the shares increased their value many times over. Over time, the stock price collapsed, making payments to millions of investors impossible.

The definition itself, as a term, was first used by the British in the 1970s to refer to cheating. However, history shows that the first modern financial pyramid was created by Charles Ponzi in the USA. Ponzi recreated the first single-level scam , based on attracting new deposits. Charles founded a company that offered to buy coupons in exchange for a promissory note that guaranteed 50% net profit in 45 days. Over time, it turned out that there were only 27 thousand coupons on hand, although 160 million were supposed to be in circulation. The scam was exposed, and investors returned only 37%. In total, Charles raised $50 million.

"MMM"

The incredible boom of financial pyramids in Russia occurred during the period of large-scale privatization in the early 1990s. At the same time, the largest financial pyramid in the CIS region was created under the leadership of Sergei Mavrodi “MMM”. The company was engaged in the issue of shares, which were offered for purchase to everyone. As a result, the organization was recognized as the largest scam, although it officially paid taxes. Let's take a closer look below.

How a financial pyramid works

None monetary structure cannot function without a constant flow of money, so the principle of such work can be associated with pyramids. After all, in fact, if you withdraw all deposits from any bank, it will close. Why? – because the bank does not produce any product, but in defense of banks it is worth mentioning the provision financial services. The principle of operation of a financial pyramid is based on an exceptional influx of new investors. As soon as the influx stops, the investment site is closed.

To understand how to build a logical chain of events that helps to understand how a financial pyramid works, let’s give a clear example:

• Let's say a legal company has opened "Naduvalovo" .
• The fund attracts investments, guaranteeing earnings of 1% daily.
• The first investors appear and are paid the stated return.
• Investors like everything, so they express a desire to attract new partners, because "Naduvalovo" will give 10% of new deposits.
• The project also pays this money, so more and more people want to earn money.
• "Naduvalovo" is developing, and the first investors are already receiving net profit on personal deposits. All investors rejoice and sing songs of praise.
• There comes a point when the payment obligations become too large, or the organizers simply want to close the program.
• Payments stop.
• Investors understand that this is a fraudulent scheme, but alas, even the police are unlikely to find the creators "Naduvalova" .

In short, the whole process goes something like this. Almost everywhere they write that financial pyramids are unprofitable organizations. We agree with the title “scam” that the majority are left with nothing too. But few people talk about how a huge number of people became millionaires by participating in such schemes. The Internet contains a lot of them. You just need to know how to earn money and understand the principle of work, although everyone makes the choice to participate or not.

Signs of a financial pyramid

One of the most frequently asked questions for sure “How to recognize this kind of company?” . A sign was made for this purpose. So, the signs of a financial pyramid include:

The company's activities are based solely on words	The company's work is supported solely by words or text on the website. No one will ever show what operations are being carried out because they do not exist in nature.
No accounting reports	Income on the deposit is accrued according to the stated conditions. Another point is that a highly profitable project will never provide financial statements about activities.
Interest is higher than bank interest	Each sign is important, but this point is the most revealing. If an investment fund offers a guaranteed income that exceeds the bank interest on deposits, it will probably turn out to be a financial pyramid, of which there are many types.
No faces	Often faces are not revealed. On the other hand, their presence does not guarantee the reliability of the company.
Documents in an offshore country	Most often, organizations are legal. This happens because documents like the Panama license are not difficult to forge (purchase). Certificates are also forged, which will claim that all money is protected and insured.
Barkers give guarantees	There are a large number of activists who are “pumping up” the investment fund. At the same time, such persons often guarantee 100% results and no risks.
Fast payback period	The payback period for the investment can be from a month to a year (more unlikely). This is many times superior banking conditions depositing.
Minimum contribution	A minimum contribution is required to participate.
Active PR campaign	There is massive advertising and people come in packs. It is also one of the most important signs.
Promises for years to come	It is certainly not known how long such enterprises last, although average 1-12 months, with ten-year plans of the organizers.
Organizers' persistence	The creators do their best to encourage new investors to make deposits using tricks and tricks. Early investors are also forced to reinvest.
Passive income	The main sign is that you don’t need to do anything, just give them money and sit on the couch. Surely such conditions are inherent only in “pyramidos”.

This is how a financial pyramid functions, the signs of which can be detected with the naked eye.

Financial pyramid - essence and purpose

The main goal of the creators of such a scheme – become richer due to the permanent influx of new participants. Whoever manages to get rich with them is a great fellow and knows that the sphere implies not only losses, but also excellent profits. To understand how financial pyramids work, you need to understand their essence. Everything can be depicted primitively using the following diagram.

The creators are professionals in their field, so they know how to make an investment project where people will spend money. The investor will make a profit until the outflow exceeds the inflow. As soon as everything comes down to this outcome, the financial pyramid collapses, and investors understand that this is the end. Essentially, it all comes down to the redistribution of income between platform participants. It is difficult to dissuade an experienced person from participating in this kind of investment, since he knows that he cannot get that kind of money out of the bank or from his place of work.

Types of financial pyramids

Single-level

The simplest and most popular type is a single-level investment fund. Represents the standard " Ponzi scheme" It is not necessary to invite new clients, because the creator pays the participants with personal funds at the initial stage of work. After gaining popularity and creating the illusion of a reliable project, the cash register begins to fill with investors’ money. In short, the operating principle is based on the independent development of the platform by the administrator without stimulating the audience to develop.

Multi-level

This type of highly profitable program is similar in principle to the previous one, but requires mandatory invitations. Without partners and additional funds, the flow of funds from late investors to early investors and the admin will become impossible. Multi-level projects can include up to 15 levels of structure, but fully populated levels will be equal to the number of people in the country.

Matrix

The matrix scheme provides for a type of marketing in which the investor undertakes to fill out his own matrix. The size of the matrix is ​​described by the company's terms and conditions. The new participant ends up at the very bottom of the matrix and gradually moves up, filling out his own. In this case, inviting partners is not necessary, since the matrix can be filled out by superior and subordinate people. It is worth saying that such a situation is unlikely. Schematically it looks like this.

The single-level financial pyramid is the most tenacious, since the cash desk is burdened solely by deposit obligations. The average life expectancy of this species is approximately from 4 months to several years.

The largest financial pyramids in world history

As technology and human skills developed, the ability to obtain benefits progressed in parallel. On these grounds, marketing changed, which attracted more people and money, respectively. This provoked the development of the scheme highly profitable investments and new types of financial pyramids appeared. Next, each type is considered separately point by point.

Lou Perlman, the founder of Trans Continental Airlines Travel Services and a dozen others, became especially famous in 1981. The companies were listed only by documents and did not conduct any activities. Lu managed to sell shares of his project for 20 years in a row and even place shares on the stock exchange. We bought shares as individuals, so did financial institutions, and their share prices rose.

The criminal scheme was later discovered and Lou Perlman was sentenced to 25 years in prison. During all this time he managed to attract $300 million. Interestingly, it was this man who created the popular musical groups Backstreet Boys and NSync.

European Royal Club

In 1992, an organization called the European Royal Club was founded by two partners, Damara Bertges and Hans Spachtholz. The club had great financial influence and was perceived as the opposite of the banks of Europe. Members of the European Royal Club had the right to purchase a "letter", which was presented as a share in the company. The shares gave a yield of 200 Swiss francs at a cost of 1400 monetary units. The fraudulent scheme was uncovered 2 years later. During this period of time, the amount of investment amounted to 1 billion dollars . Damara was given 7 years in prison, and Hans 5.

The Greatest Pyramid by Barnard Madoff

The largest financial pyramid scheme of all time in the world was created by a man named Bernie Madoff. The activity of the scheme falls on the modern period. Bernard Madoff formed the investment fund “Madoff Investment Securities,” which was rightfully considered one of the most reliable and largest in the United States. The fund gave investors between 12% and 13% returns each year. Over the 15 years of its existence, it was able to attract both investments from individuals and the capital of large financial companies. According to estimates, over the entire period it was possible to attract more than 3 million people and capital in the amount of $65 billion! The bubble burst in 2008, and Bernie received a 150-year sentence.

Ingenious schemes

The name of the scheme is derived from the name of the creator from Pakistan with the beautiful name Syed Sibtul Hassan Shah. For some time, Syed Shah lived in the city of Dubai, after which he returned home - the city of Wazirabad. The guy actively began telling his neighbors about his incredible competence in managing capital on the stock exchange.

Only about 10 people believed Shah, who gave the money under the guarantee of doubling it within a week. The guy fulfilled his obligations and after 1.5 years he managed to collect about 1 billion dollars with more than 300 thousand investors. Shah's activities ceased and as a result he was arrested under the law.

It is also impossible not to mention another interesting historical moment. In 1999, a businessman from China named Wang Feng opened his own company, which invited everyone to become its investors. The essence was an unusual business - buying and caring for “special” ants. The ants cost $1,500 and, according to legend, had healing properties. For 14 months of ant care, investors were entitled to accruals of 32% per year of the purchase amount.

Wang Feng became a very famous person, who was written about in newspapers and talked about on television. However, in practice there was no use of ants. The scam collapsed after reaching a total investment of $2 billion , and Feng was sentenced to death.

Popular financial pyramids in Russia

"MMM"

The largest financial pyramid in Russia, MMM, run by Sergei Mavrodi, has already been mentioned several times. Sergei and two henchmen decided to organize an enterprise, the name of which consisted of the first letters of the founders' surnames. The company offered to become a shareholder to everyone who would receive 1000% per annum. The popularity was enormous, especially on television.

The company had an attractive slogan: “Tomorrow is more expensive than today.” The organizers managed to work for 5 years, attracting order $2 billion with millions of investors. In 2003, MMM was recognized as a fraudulent scheme, and the founders were taken into custody. However, Sergei said that the collapse of MMM was solely the fault of the state. According to the law, the company had to pay 11 billion rubles to the state in the form of taxes, while 15 were paid. However, the state turned everything upside down so that the founders were forced to pay 50 billion.

"Vlastilina"

The well-known financial scam “Vlastilina”, registered by Valentina Solovyova, gained considerable popularity in 1992. The company accepted deposits at interest and after the deposit expired it gave the opportunity to buy a car or a house with a 50% discount.

However, 1995 was the last year for “Vlastelina”. Valentina was arrested without the right to leave prison less than 7 years later. The collapsed network has deprived 16,000 customers $2.6 million .

"Russian House Selenga"

The company "Russian House Selenga" was founded in 1992. It was also one of the first financial pyramids in the CIS. Sergey Gruzinin and Alexander Salomadin opened more than 70 branches throughout the country, offering investors profits from investments in a chain of supermarkets, transport and tourism enterprises. The scam collapsed in 1994, leaving the 2.4 million participants who contributed with nothing. 2.8 trillion non-denominated rubles .

Since 1992, the Khoper-Invest organization has been building a massive network of points for accepting money at interest. The fraudulent scheme developed a number of dubious companies and exported capital abroad from Russia, exchanging it for foreign currency. The bubble burst in 1997, and the founders were given 8 years. Four million people were defrauded out of 3 trillion non-denominated rubles.

State pyramids

We wanted to dig as deep as possible when considering this scheme. From our research it turned out that almost everything in our world works according to the pyramid principle. Let's look at real examples.

Banks

A bank is a financial institution that accepts money from interested parties for safekeeping in exchange for their use. Banks have the main product thanks to which these “pyramids” exist - credit. Without it, the existence of these structures would not be possible, since the first main instrument is the deposit. Each investor receives 7-12% per annum, so money is constantly leaving the cash register. Only increased rate provides stability on the loan large banks. But history knows a lot of examples when banks burst like a bubble. Do you know why? – because people withdrew their deposits en masse. The cash register is empty, the bank is closed, does it remind you of anything?)

Everyone was young and would eventually become old. The state takes care of the elderly by providing them with a state pension. However, not many people know where this money comes from. While we are working, we pay tax to the state on every salary we receive. Thus, the young provide for the old . It is impossible to say that we pay taxes and then we will receive them in old age. The world of finance is changing quickly, currencies rise and fall - too much is changing. Therefore, while young people give away part of their income, the state pays pensions to older people. As soon as this stops, there will be no pension. There is a banal transfer of money.

Dollar

And of course, it is impossible not to mention the great and mighty US dollar. After World War II, the US authorities carried out a competent policy that made the American country the greatest and richest on the planet. But America does not have as many gold and foreign exchange reserves as dollars that have been issued around the world. According to statistics, only 4% of the total currency is backed by gold. Conclusion: the dollar is a global financial pyramid, which is supported exclusively by fictitious interests, because national debt US is 21 trillion dollars.

Famous financial pyramids on the Internet

Fraudulent schemes are recognized to be called. These schemes have all the hallmarks of financial pyramids, so next we will consider the most famous ones.

The Mercury network pyramid appeared at the beginning of 2014. The project was picked up and began to develop. Investors were offered 1% profit every day for a year. The money was placed without guarantees on a voluntary basis, but there were many who wanted to become investors. The hype closed that same year.

Another well-known financial pyramid of our time is Webtransfer. The investment conditions were pleasant and gave participants 0.5-3% profit daily. The company was engaged in microcredit, where anyone could become a lender or borrower. The popularity was extremely high and many were able to become millionaires, but the bubble burst.

Questra World

Questra World, Atlantic Global Asset Management, AGAM was the name given to this hype. It has become extremely popular throughout Europe with huge accumulated liquidity. It was suggested to buy investment portfolios, giving from 17% to 26% profit monthly. Thousands were able to get fabulously rich and earn tens of thousands of dollars, since the hype was worthy, but it still closed.

MVK – Millionaires in Sneakers – became a popular platform in 2016. The fund was managed by Vladimir Romanov and gave investors a floating percentage (average 1%). People invested fabulous amounts of money, even sold property. Many got rich, but most lost.

The Bitcoin investment network pyramid Airbitclub has become popular amid the growth of Bitcoin. For marketing, participants received 40% per annum. It was popular on the Internet, but few people made money.

Cashbury

The largest investment project in the CIS in 2017-2018 is Cashbury. Specializes in microcredit. Hundreds of offices were opened throughout Russia, large-scale leadership trainings and massive advertising were carried out. Hype gave up to 1% daily for 400 days. Thousands of people got rich.

The legendary hype DDfutures, whose admin decided to wipe the nose of the entire industry, giving 2.1% of net profit per day from the end of 2016 to 2018. The fund became popular on the MMGP forum, was able to give over 1100% of net profit and turn over more than 1 million dollars over the entire period.

Responsibility for the creation of financial pyramids

All states are fighting against financial pyramids, because they directly affect the well-being of the country. The founders are literally depriving the country of funds, since naturally no one pays taxes. All structures that have signs of a financial pyramid are prohibited in Russia under Article 172.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and bear criminal liability.

According to the law, for creating fraudulent schemes in China and the United Arab Emirates, a severe penalty is provided - the death penalty. If a country does not have a separate article on this matter, fraud may be considered illegal business.

Difference between network marketing and pyramid scheme

Often people cannot understand how network marketing differs from a financial pyramid. Many people believe that they are the same thing - this is a very misconception. Beginners assign similar meaning to both definitions, since the principle is quite similar, and they earn money in a similar way. Conclusion - it's all a scam. The following table lists the main differences between network business and ponzi projects.

Modern operating financial pyramids

Now you know what a financial pyramid is and what its signs are. Almost all sources draw an unequivocal conclusion - it is impossible to make money on investment projects of this kind. It may sound a little rude, but these people are absolutely incompetent on the topic. This article contains a lot of examples from history where people lost a lot of money, but experienced participants made colossal profits. Without exaggeration, many became millionaires without breaking the law. Participation is not illegal.

This type of income is the main one for us, because the area has been studied inside and out. If you follow all the rules, you can earn money, and even very stably, at least read the reviews of the MMGP forum participants. We do not encourage anyone to invest money in banks or such projects - everyone makes their own decision. If the topic is really interesting to you, you can look at those who are paying at the moment. It is constantly updated, and the blog monitors work in real time. Investing in cryptocurrency, knowledge or keeping money under your pillow is everyone’s choice, but we are personally encouraged by this thought from a wise, successful person:

“Either you control your money, or the lack of it will control you.” Dave Ramsey

The best articles on investing on the Internet!

For decades now, the media have been accustoming people to one idea: you can’t earn anything from pyramids, you can only lose it. But is this really so?

But in fact, if you approach the process of investing in highly profitable investment projects professionally, then this type of investment can turn out to be very profitable. But what is the difference between a professional and an amateur?

One of the differences is that a professional has investment plan with a well-thought-out strategy, which he strictly adheres to.

In this article, I decided to analyze in detail several strategies for investing in HYIPs that will help minimize risks, plan future profits and earn more money.

The first step towards a million.

Probably, most people invest their money in only one project, which they consider the most reliable. This approach is risky and more like gambling.

• Strategy "I'm like everyone else"
• Strategy "Brave Investor"
• Strategy "Steel eggs"
• Strategy "Rational Thinking"

The second approach is based on the principle of risk diversification, in which we try to minimize our risks.

• Strategy "I don't like champagne"
• Strategy "Wise Investor"
• Strategy “I’m saving for a funeral”

Below we will take a closer look at all the strategies described above and everyone will be able to choose for themselves the one that seems closer to them, based on their personal qualities, goals and financial capabilities.

Investing in one hype.

In this section, we will look at various investment and money management tactics when investing in one classic medium-interest HYIP with a perpetual deposit. For example, this could be a project with a profitability of 30% per month and a deposit included in payments.

We will calculate the strategy based on the following conditions:

• Long-term HYIPs with serious preparation according to the plan should live for more than a year. This is the number we will focus on. That is, we will assume that the project should last another year after you make a contribution.
• The second reason why the period of one year is taken is that the deposit usually works for only 12 months.

1. Strategy “I’m like everyone else.”

This is the strategy followed by most participants in long-term HYIP projects. The idea is that a person invests the entire amount in one fund and withdraws interest every week without replenishing his deposit.

By investing 20,000 rubles, you get 58,392 in a year. By investing 100,000 rubles you get 328,500.

Conclusion. This approach will help minimize risks and recoup your investment as quickly as possible when investing in only one project. But, as often happens, reducing risks also reduces profitability.

2. “Brave Investor” strategy.

The idea is that from the very first week a person begins to divide the payment into 2 equal parts. He takes 50% for himself, and invests 50% again in the project, thereby increasing the deposit.

In the presented calculation, we analyzed 2 cases: an initial deposit of 20,000 rubles and 100,000 rubles.

1 case.

In Elevrus, the minimum deposit is 3,000 rubles, so with such a small deposit we will have to save money for reinvestment within several weeks. As soon as the required amount accumulates, we immediately invest it in HYIP, thereby increasing the deposit and, accordingly, subsequent payments.

As a result, in a year we will be able to increase our deposit from 20,000 rubles to almost 78,000 rubles and at the same time earn almost 60,000 rubles.

Case 2.

In this case, from the first weeks, half of the payment is enough for us to replenish the deposit; it turns out that we are increasing the deposit every week.

As a result, our deposit increases over the year from 100,000 rubles to 513,000 rubles, and at the same time we earn 413,000 rubles.

Let's complicate the strategy.

Now you need to find out whether at some point you should stop reinvesting payments into the deposit and start taking it for yourself in full? To do this, in the last columns in both cases we add the income received up to this time with the current payment multiplied by the number of weeks until the end of the year.

Calculations show that the longer we stick to the strategy chosen at the beginning (split payments in half and reinvest 50%), the greater the profit we will receive, even if the hype stops paying immediately after the end of the year.

Conclusion. This approach increases risks, increases the period of “recapture” of the deposit, but ultimately increases income. If you started using this tactic from the first weeks, then you shouldn’t stop.

3. “Eggs of Steel” strategy.

The meaning of this strategy is that a person reinvests the entire payment amount back into the HYIP, thereby actively increasing his deposit.

For analysis, we will again take 2 cases: an initial deposit of 20,000 rubles and 100,000 rubles.

1 case.

The initial deposit is 20,000 rubles.

IN in this case in the first weeks you will have to save up funds for new contribution. But gradually the payments reach such a size that it is possible to reinvest every week.

As a result, over the course of a year, our deposit increases 19 times from 20,000 rubles to almost 377,000 rubles.

Case 2.

The initial deposit is 100,000 rubles.

In the second case, a deposit of 100,000 rubles allows us to reinvest earnings every week. Due to this, the deposit will increase 29 times from 100,000 rubles to 2,900,000 rubles.

Let's complicate the strategy.

Now we need to answer the question, when is the best time to stop increasing the deposit and start taking payments for ourselves if we plan for the hype to last a year?

To do this, we calculate how much money we can collect before the end of the year for each week. For both cases it turns out that we can count on maximum income, if we spend 39-40 weeks actively increasing the deposit, and after that we start withdrawing money in full, or switch to the “Brave Investor” strategy.

Conclusion. This tactic is very risky, because even the most reliable hype can collapse at any moment. And if this happens during the implementation of this strategy, the investor will lose his entire investment without receiving anything in return. But these tactics provide very rapid growth of the deposit.

4. Strategy “Rational thinking”.

I think this is also a very popular strategy. Its meaning is that a person first returns his entire contribution, and then switches to the “Steel Eggs” or “Brave Investor” strategies.

Below we will again consider 2 options: with a deposit of 20,000 rubles and 100,000 rubles.

1 case.

The initial deposit is 20,000 rubles.

We recoup the initial investment in 18 weeks, and then switch to the “Brave Investor” strategy. As a result, after a year we:

• we return our contribution
• we increase the deposit from 20,000 rubles to almost 50,000 rubles
• At the same time, we earn 29,600 rubles.

Case 2.

The initial deposit is 100,000 rubles.

We recoup the initial investment in 15 weeks, and, as in the previous case, we switch to the “Brave Investor” strategy. The results after a year will be as follows:

• we recoup the deposit
• we increase the deposit from 100,000 rubles to 305,000 rubles
• at the same time we earn 205,000 rubles

Conclusion. This tactic allows you to combine the advantages of different strategies. The good risk-return ratio makes this approach very popular among investors.

Investing on the principle of risk diversification.

Below we will look at tactics when investing in pyramids based on the principle of risk diversification (read more about why you can’t keep all your eggs in one basket).

To minimize risks when making money on financial pyramids, we divide the deposit amount into several parts and invest in various projects. In this situation, we will not depend on one hype, so this approach will work for many years. Some projects will be closed, new ones will appear in their place, and our deposit will grow and bring us income.

Let's take the average option with a yield of 3.5% per week and an average minimal contribution 4000 rubles.

5. Strategy “I don’t like champagne.”

The meaning of the approach is that a person invests money, scattering it across different projects. If one of the HYIPs closes, then it immediately finds new project and contributes to it. He takes all the payments for himself.

The calculations for this strategy are very simple. By investing 20,000 rubles, in a year we receive 36,000 rubles. By investing 100,000 rubles, in a year we receive 183,000 rubles.

Conclusion. This tactic is suitable for those who do not like to take risks at all. If you think that a bird in the hand is better than a pie in the sky, then this strategy is ideal for you.

6. “Wise Investor” strategy.

The essence here is the same as in the “Brave Investor” strategy. The investor takes half of the payment for himself, and reinvests the other half.

For example, let’s take 2 amounts: 50,000 rubles and 120,000 rubles.

1 case.

As a result, at the end of the first year we will increase our deposit from 50,000 rubles to 122,000 rubles and earn 72,500 rubles.

Case 2.

The initial deposit is 120,000 rubles.

In a year, our deposit will grow from 120,000 rubles to 289,000 rubles, and we will earn 174,000 rubles.

Conclusion. This tactic allows you to increase your deposit and consistently receive income from your deposit, and all this with minimal risks. I find this strategy the most interesting.

7. Strategy “Saving for a funeral.”

Here we completely reinvest the received payment, thereby increasing the deposit.

For example, consider the same amounts: 50,000 rubles and 120,000 rubles.

1 case.

The initial deposit is 50,000 rubles.

In the first year, you will be able to increase the deposit from 50,000 rubles to 294,000 rubles.

At the end of the second year, the deposit will increase to 940,000 rubles.

Case 2.

Initial contribution 120,000 rubles.

At the end of the first year, the deposit will increase from 120,000 rubles to 718,000 rubles.

After 2 years, the deposit will be 2,405,000 rubles.

Conclusion. Due to the fact that such tactics are not limited in time and the fact that the longer money is accumulated on a deposit, the more income you will receive in the future, there is a temptation to stick to this strategy longer and receive a huge income in a few years.

Conclusion.

I think the calculations given in this article showed you that in HYIPs you can get good income. You can choose from the 7 presented tactics the one that you consider suitable for you.