DAGUPAN CITY–
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) warns the public anew from being
hoodwinked into patronizing the “online paluwagan” because it is another form
of investment scam that aims to divest their hard-earned money.
Guillermo Avelino Jr., senior
trade and industry development specialist of DTI-Pangasinan, advised the public
to be wise in dealing with a get-rich-quick money scheme as they might end up
empty-handed in the future.
“The scam enticed would-be
victims that their money will grow high in a short time. Don’t easily get
fooled if it is too good to be true,” Avelino said during the Pantongtongan
Tayo radio program of Philippine Information Agency-Pangasinan on Tuesday.
Pinoy Scam Detector website
describes the online paluwagan as following the structure of the Ponzi scheme
or pyramid where as you have to recruit a down line and complete the board to
have an exit cash, technically, you have to recruit people who will fund your
pay-out, which is the most basic part of pyramiding scam.
“You will notice that you are
recruiting other people to get your cash and you will just keep on doing the
cycle until there are no more people to join and those who are last to be part of it shall face
the loss of money,” it said.
Avelino said the Consumer Act of
the Philippines prohibits pyramiding schemes, which are defined as “sales
devices whereby a participant makes an investment for the right to recruit
others, with profits from the scheme being derived primarily from recruitment
rather than from the sale of consumer products, services or credits."
He stressed that the DTI
continues with its advocacy campaigns against investment scams to protect
people from falling prey to these unscrupulous activities as only a thin line
separates a legitimate multi-level marketing system from an illegal pyramiding
scheme. (VHS/AMM/PIA-1, Pangasinan)
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