Beware of this old scam
Beware of this old scam
Readers should be aware of the sudden appearance in Indonesia
of faxes and color brochures from a company in Italy calling
itself Future Strategies. The writing is all in Bahasa Indonesia,
and the documents invite you to send US$40 to a bank account in
Kelapa Gading and another $40 to their bank account in Italy.
This investment will get you a "certificate", a piece of paper,
which according to the blurb will then help you to reach a "peak"
by recruiting other people.
This scam is a pyramid of the type which is illegal and
outlawed in the USA and most Western European companies. It says
a lot for Italy that the company claims to be registered with the
Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Modena. The company
introducing this to Indonesia should be brought to account
immediately -- it is just as bad as flooding the country with
pornography.
The pyramid system is built on nothing -- the certificate
owner hopes that enough people will be silly enough to part with
$80 to recruit somebody else to do the same thing. Great way of
getting rich for those at the top of the tree and in the company,
but devastating for anyone in Indonesia investing money in it.
The brochure shows a drawing which implies it is some form of
network marketing, which again is extremely misleading, as it
suggests your "downline" is unlimited, when in fact a little
thought would tell you that the number of people likely to pay
$80 for a piece of paper is extremely limited.
Network marketing has very strict guidelines and hence
companies like HerbaLife and Nuskin, coming to Indonesia in 1998,
achieve billions of dollars of sales worldwide as they sell
products which consumers buy, not worthless pieces of paper.
Members of the DSA (Direct Selling Association), such as
HerbaLife and Nuskin, operate to strict guidelines and the most
basic criteria is that a product must be sold, not
"certificates". The association was founded to protect consumers
from scams such as this.
I hope the Indonesian authorities and the Indonesian Consumers
Association will immediately ban this scheme to protect their
citizens. Should you receive such unsolicited mail you may wish
to consider what I am saying or you may care to complain directly
to the Indonesian Consumers Association.
BILL GUERIN
Jakarta