Here come the mini-Madoffs.
The Better Business Bureau warned today about a proliferation of what appear to be Ponzi schemes on YouTube.
“They make it seem like it’s legal and an easy way to make money, but it’s nothing more than a pyramid scheme,” Better Business Bureau spokeswoman Alison Southwick said.
The videos usually don’t ask for money directly but send viewers to websites where they are urged to sign up for the “gifting program,” usually for fees ranging from $150 to $5,000.
One of the videos added today on YouTube featured Bible quotes, pictures of stacks of money and a testimonial from a man who said he not only got rich from cash gifting, but he also found true happiness and lost 35 pounds.
Some of the videos claim that because it’s “gifting,” it’s somehow legal.
“They talk about ‘cash leveraging,’ whatever that means, and other vague marketing talk,” Southwick said. But the basic scheme is that participants are told to recruit more people who will put in more money, and so on.
“It’s just money changing hands,” she said, “and it always goes to people at the top of the pyramid.”
Which brings up the question: Does Madoff have computer privileges in prison?
