These schemes recruit people through ads and e-mails that promise everything from making big money working from home to turning $10 into $20,000 in just 6 weeks. Or, you may be given the chance to join a special group of investors who are going to get rich on a great investment. The invitation might even come from someone you know.
Investors who get into the scheme early may receive high returns fairly soon from what they think are interest cheques. They’re often so pleased that they invest more money, or recruit friends and family as new investors.
But the investment doesn’t exist. The “interest cheques” are ρáíd from the investors’ own money and money from new investors. Eventually, new people stop joining the scheme. There’s no more money to pay out and you don’t see another cent. That’s when the promoters will vanish, taking all the money with them.