A good number of Nigerians seem not to have learnt any lesson from the ‘tragedy’ they suffered late last year, when the billions of naira they invested in a Ponzi scheme called Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox was suddenly frozen by its organisers.
Today, a chain of online Ponzi businesses that lay claim to having the magic wand to transform investors overnight to millionaires have almost immediately replaced the ‘frozen’ MMM and many Nigerians have instantly fallen for them.
This is partly because the new schemes, like its forebears, do not require any hard labour on the part of the investors to make fortunes. “Known globally as Ponzi scheme, investment into the business does not require much capital, just as there is no age barrier for enrolment,” revealed an insider.
Investigations revealed that the eye opener to this form of business was sequel to the introduction last year of the MMM scheme that created many overnight millionaires, who made windfall profits which they aptly called ‘Return on Investment.’
The scheme promised 30 percent return on investment. It was gathered that many Nigerians, who saw the emergence of MMM as a miraculous form of investment meant to help poor countries of the world, were ready to argue further that MMM was an antidote to the current economic recession that has hit a poor country like Nigeria. “It was the poor people’s antidote to beat poverty hands down.
It made us live better as our suffering was finally alleviated. But the greedy elite soon became jealous of our success story. They simply shut us down the very time we needed to move further”, said Mr. Tope Abubakar, an active investor in the MMM, who resides at Adealu Street, Agege, Lagos.
Checks by The Point revealed that for almost nine months that the MMM reigned supreme, millions of investors equally lost their life savings to the scheme that had initially produced overnight millionaires. This followed the fatal blow they received towards the end of last year, when the “regulators” of the scheme suddenly yanked it off from the internet.
There is no gainsaying the fact that Nigerians got carried away by the prospect of making money that they would not have made by working. People stayed in their various homes doing business with the click of a mouse.
They believed in the business hook, line and sinker. Of course, the advent of MMM soon made the monetary regulatory body kick as the Central Bank of Nigeria came down hard on it till it finally closed shop, with a promise to return “soon”. But soon afterwards, international fraudsters, in connivance with local crooks, came up with other schemes similar to MMM.
The business schemes have been operating clandestinely but not as popular as MMM. Below is the lists of such new schemes.
Get help worldwide
This is an online scheme that promises people so much money. The fraudulent scheme came into being in August 2016 and investors say it has been gaining much popularity since the closure of MMM.
The invisible managers of the scheme claim that “it is a mutual fund that requires peer-to-peer donation, as people help other people by providing direct financial help. Third parties are not encouraged in this scheme. “The help offered yields a profit of 30 percent, if it is in local currency and 50 percent, if it is in bitcoin. The profit is made within 30 days,” according to the scheme.
“The help offered yields a profit of 30 percent, if it is in local currency and 50 percent, if it is in bitcoin. The profit is made within 30 days,” according to the scheme.
Zar fund
This scheme was set up by Hannes Jordaan, an online entrepreneur, who reportedly lives in South Africa.
Zar Fund claims that it offers financial assistance to those who need it. Members are expected to join through a referral link, which is level one.
Thereafter, they would be asked to make a payment of 0.03btc per month to be able to receive the same amount from members under them on “level one downline”. With enough collection of funds from those on level one, members graduate to level two. Zar Fund depends on the active participation of referred members.
NNN
Nigeria Shortly after the crashing of MMM scheme, streetwise Nigerians came up with the idea of NNN Nigeria.
According to their website, it is a scheme that takes care of a community of ordinary people who understand the meaning of unity in adversity. “The goal of this scheme is not money but to acquire as much as you can.
It is a mutual aid that offers 35 percent yield to its participants as compared to the 30 percent offered by MMM.” According to them, it works under democratic principles because “It is made by the people and for the people.” It adds that, “some freedom lovers in America came together to establish it.
“It is headed by an influential Yoruba man! It was tested in New York City in 2014 before it was brought down to Nigeria. It is an improved MMM system”.
E-cooperative online
This is another scheme that appears to have recently gained popularity across the country. E-cooperative does not promise any percent on money donated.
This scheme helps members raise the capital needed for major projects and gives them ideas on how to manage the money they make from their businesses.
This scheme has two parts; the multilevel part of E-cooperative, then the business part. It claims to have the capacity to render services such as internet marketing and training, online adverts, micro-credit, skill acquisition training and business development.”
Givers forum
Its founders claimed that it is one of the top online money schemes in Nigeria. The Point learnt that giversforum.net domain was registered in October 2016. It claims to be, “a community of givers who assist each other financially; there are no lenders or debtors here. People simply offer help when a member is in need.”
Participants are charged to be kind and honest in their dealings. Financial help has to be given whenever a participant is in dire need of it. The money stays in the account of participants and not in a central account, which can be subjected to theft. At the moment, it is said to be one of the top five schemes in the country.
Crowd rising
This is one of the newly introduced Ponzi schemes that is trending among the ignorant ones. According to an insider source, ”It was set up in such a way that charities, schools, religious organisations and clubs can benefit from it.”
The traffic on this site is relatively low, compared to the other schemes. Donations are said to be made directly into the account of the members.
Participants are charged to be kind and honest in their dealings. Financial help has to be given whenever a participant is in dire need of it
Ultimate cycler
This scheme was claimed to have been set up by a US-based network marketer identified as Peter Wolfing. Upon registering, members are expected to pay N12,500 to another member. The member must confirm the payment, after which the administrators will place four registered people under you.
This people would pay N12,500 each into your account. Members are encouraged to bring in other people, if they cannot wait to be matched with people who will pay them.
Icharity
This is said to be an international charity club that has a network of donors and peers, members who team up with a view of making financial gains. “Members give and receive donations here; it is an open club, where anyone can join anywhere.
Members do not pay to a central server because, “schemes that use central servers are burdened with the responsibility of deciding who to give money to and at what time”.
