DM168

BUSINESS MAVERICK 168

Ponzi and pyramid schemes have extra appeal during the pandemic

Ponzi and pyramid schemes have extra appeal during the pandemic
(Photo: Adobe Stock)

But it’s not just pyramid schemes. Legitimate direct sellers have also seen their businesses grow.

First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) says there has been an increase in pyramid schemes over the Covid-19 pandemic period. Legitimate direct sellers say their business is also growing and offering South Africans economic opportunities in tough times.

Pyramid schemes – and Ponzi schemes that use various fraudulent investment and business models to lure unsuspecting people and essentially scam them – are nothing new, but they have seen a recent rise in popularity.

NCC Acting Commissioner Thezi Mabuza confirms the body has seen an increase in complaints during the lockdown period and has initiated three investigations.

“While it is difficult to say why there was an increase, we think [it is] because some consumers were financially strained and they spent more time trying to make an extra income,” she says.

Around August, the commission investigated a pyramid scheme called Up Money, which had more than 230,000 customers and defined itself as a grocery stokvel, promising monthly financial and product rewards.

The Asset Forfeiture Unit of the National Prosecuting Authority intervened and froze various accounts. Mabuza confirms that the commission is in the process of investigating other pyramid schemes.

Rajesh Parshotam is the chairperson of the Direct Selling Association of South Africa (DSA), which represents about 28 local and international companies that sell directly from representatives to consumers. Among them are Amway, AMC Cookware, Avon Justine and Herbalife Nutrition.

“Given the significant focus of direct selling as an opportunity, both from a product and income perspective,” he says, “we have seen a mushrooming of these pyramid schemes and Ponzi schemes, unfortunately, who kind of get alongside us and mirror themselves as a legitimate direct selling company, but they’re not.”

Parshotam explains that he has noticed the increase in fraudulent schemes not only through complaints and liaising with member companies but also by personally receiving more SMSes and other communications that look suspicious. “If you’re not expecting it, don’t touch it, don’t even click that link, because you weren’t expecting it in the first instance.” The DSA has been working with government institutions and has laid a complaint against a particular company. Parshotam says they have also put considerable consideration into consumer education to clarify the differences between legitimate and fraudulent sellers.

“First of all, what’s the signing fee, what’s the joining fee? If it’s exorbitant, that’s already a red flag,” he says. The second question for consumers that are being approached to become a direct seller or representative is to ask what exactly the goods and services are that are being offered, followed by what the compensation scheme is.”

For instance, according to DSA and global codes of conduct, direct sellers should only be paid for products and services, not for recruitment efforts. “Those are three things that I would say very quickly will give you an indication of whether there’s legitimacy or not.”

Mabuza encourages consumers to research companies and Parshotam says the DSA can be approached for support in this. “Consumers are urged to be vigilant and verify the legitimacy of a supplier before engaging with that supplier. If they are engaging with a private person, there is no recourse should the sale go wrong,” says Mabuza.

Although the pandemic period and associated economic hardships have driven an increase in pyramid schemes, Parshotam says the interest in legitimate direct selling has also been significant, both for consumers buying and those becoming sellers.

He says this follows several years of growth for the industry, including 2% from 2018 to 2019. The DSA says the industry has more than 760,000 direct sellers, the majority of whom are African and female. Parshotam says DSA members recorded around R9-billion in 2019, with R2.4-billion going to direct sellers.

Although the DSA does not yet have the full figures for 2020, he says some member companies say they have had their best year since launch. In a landscape that has seen an increase in unreliable offers, Parshotam hopes direct selling can offer a strong alternative. “You know, we have professional ethical standards that we subscribe to as an industry and we are driving this big time, both internally but also externally with government, because we strongly believe that we can be part of the solution looking forward towards economic recovery.” DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for free to Pick n Pay Smart Shoppers at these Pick n Pay stores.

Gallery

"Information pertaining to Covid-19, vaccines, how to control the spread of the virus and potential treatments is ever-changing. Under the South African Disaster Management Act Regulation 11(5)(c) it is prohibited to publish information through any medium with the intention to deceive people on government measures to address COVID-19. We are therefore disabling the comment section on this article in order to protect both the commenting member and ourselves from potential liability. Should you have additional information that you think we should know, please email [email protected]"

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

X

This article is free to read.

Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.

Unlike our competitors, we don’t force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.


Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us:

Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you’ve forgotten

Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.

home delivery

Say hello to DM168 home delivery

Get your favourite newspaper delivered to your doorstep every weekend.

Delivery is available in Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape.

Get DM168 delivered to your door

Subscribe to DM168 home delivery and get your favourite newspaper delivered every weekend.

Delivery is available in Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape.

Subscribe Now→

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.