The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection examines “alternative investments”. They may be a pyramid scheme

According to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, online platforms iGenius, Dream Trips and Jifu tempt users by flaunting luxury and promising quick access to wealth. “The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection actively monitors the market for the occurrence of illegal pyramid-type promotional systems and takes actions to eliminate this type of market practices.” – we read in the announcement.

Financial pyramid

– Pyramid-type promotional systems create the appearance of high profits available only to those in the know. Such systems must collapse after some time, because the money paid goes only to their organizers and people occupying a higher position in the pyramid structure. In such a system, there is no product or service whose sale would bring added value and generate real profits. We appeal to consumers to be skeptical about this type of investment offers, says Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Products constituting a financial pyramid are often hidden under the names “program”, “investments”, “earning on the Internet”, “earning at home”, “advertising platform” or “club”. For the sake of concealment, products of this type are advertised as an investment in cryptocurrencies, real estate or tourist services.

“Regardless of the pretext used, the common denominator of such systems is the recruitment of new members, building a structure and the promise of profits. Profits come from new participants, but the system must collapse after some time because the money paid in is not invested in any assets,” we read in a statement from the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

Currently the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, among others. following signals from consumers, it conducts explanatory proceedings regarding online platforms: iGenius – offering educational services in the field of financial management and Dream Trips (formerly: WorldVentures) – encouraging consumers to join a travel club.

Officials are also looking at the Jifu project, which, in exchange for a monthly subscription, provides, among others, a search engine for tourist services and offers a commission for introducing new people to the project. The iGenius, Dream Trips and Jifu platforms can potentially constitute pyramid-type promotional systems in which earning depends on acquiring new members to the distribution structure.