In the first half of 2023, the Central Bank revealed the 6 pyramid scheme in the Moscow region against 15 in the same period last year. According to Anton Saikin, the decline is due to the fact that scammers actually stopped opening offices and registering in the capital after conducting their activities online. The expert said that it is now enough for them to create a website to start attracting investors using the three main plans.
Scheme 1. Online task
Scammers can deceive the user with the help of an online economic game. As part of this, Saikin said the investor is offered to the user to buy a character in an online game or any virtual item and earn 100-200% or even 500% in a few hours. He gave examples of such economic games – BUBLIK, DRAGON MONEY, BIG BAMBOO.
The investor receives virtual income that is claimed to be cashable. However, while trying to withdraw money from the account, the Central Bank representative stated that he was asked to pay first the income tax, then the manager’s commission, and then the percentage of the vote himself.
“Eventually, the user’s account is reset and no money is returned to him. Such projects are often promoted through social networks and instant messengers. If there is no element of competition in the game, you have to be careful, and the main emphasis is on the opportunity to make money by buying virtual characters, goods and game real estate,” said Saikin.
According to him, scammers can offer investors to buy internal tokens or game characters for the cryptocurrency. At the same time, you need to bring a friend to get a bonus – these are clear signs of a fraudulent project, the expert explained.
Diagram 2. Matrix financial pyramid
Saikin said that in this scheme, scammers can openly say that it is a pyramid scheme. Only those who participate in the “project” expect to earn fast and come out with a profit very soon, he explained, adding that Russians sometimes perceive it as an easy way to invest.
The principle of operation of this pyramid is that the victim makes the first contribution and waits for the transition to a higher level. His task is to reach the first level in his matrix. In order to accelerate this process, it is necessary to attract new investors. And when the goal is achieved, the investor receives a reward.
“As soon as the flow of new victims stops, the pyramid collapses and its organizers disperse in space, because the vast majority of such “projects” exist online without regional reference,” Saikin said. He gave examples of the matrix pyramid – SocialLIFT and OASIS-MATRIX “projects”.
Scheme 3. The so-called educational resource
The pyramids are disguised on the Internet as educational platforms with access to training courses of “leading experts” in various fields.
“But even during test access, for some reason it is not possible to see an example of a lecture from one of the ‘experts’. If a person takes risks and subscribes (starts from 10 thousand rubles), he will not be satisfied with the quality of educational materials. The “chip” of such a platform is to win by attracting other participants to the program,” the representative of the Central Bank said.
The creators of the pyramid claim that you can afford the subscription fee and even make a profit. Saikin said that those who managed to lure such an offer very quickly stopped receiving the promised payments. According to him, such projects can even be advertised by popular bloggers, thereby gaining the trust of his subscribers.
Saikin emphasized that the point to be noted here is that it is impossible to learn the content in advance and it is imperative to involve other people in the “training”.
The Central Bank publishes on its official website a list of companies that have been found to engage in illegal activities, including the financial pyramids. This list is updated daily, it currently has more than 10 thousand members.
“If you have found a financial company on this list that you want to invest your money in, you should not do it under any circumstances,” said the expert.
The Central Bank’s educational project, called Rublerost, will also help to quickly identify the main signs of financial pyramids – hiding cheats, which are most often found on scam sites, he added.
According to the Main Directorate of the Central Federal District of the Central Bank of Russia, in the first half of 2023, 148 organizations were identified in Moscow that showed signs of illegal activity in the financial market. This is 32% more than the same period last year.