The MLM scam I personally experienced

That was seven years ago. Also in the summer, during the summer vacation of my sophomore year, one of my cousins ??accidentally joined a pyramid scheme. The family was very anxious and didn't know what to do. I didn't believe this was true at the time, because this cousin was the child with the highest education level in the family besides me, and I also had the best relationship with her.

After a dispute with my family, my cousin called me and hoped that I would go to her place to have a look and prove to her family that she was not part of a pyramid scheme. I only know that she works in Yiwu, seems to be selling credit cards and other products, but I don't know anything else. At that time, I also heard about some MLM organizations. What impressed me most was that once you enter such an organization, you can no longer escape or contact the outside world. But my cousin, she can contact her family at will and says she can come and go freely.

I didn’t think too much about it, and I didn’t tell my family that my cousin asked me to go to Yiwu. When we set off, I told one of my best classmates in college, who was my cousin. If she really joined a pyramid scheme, I would have to bring her back; if not, that would be better, and I could tell my family not to worry. . I am not afraid because I am alone and a student. MLM organizations will not want a child like me who has neither money nor the ability to cheat money.

The train from Chengdu to Yiwu passed through my hometown. After riding the train for more than thirty hours, I met my cousin who came to pick me up at the train station in the early morning of Yiwu. At this time, most of my inner doubts have been eliminated. Since she can come out to pick me up, it means that she is not a pyramid scheme as her family said. We stayed one night in a hotel near the train station, and Sister Tiantian took me to her place the next day.

It was an ordinary house in Yiwu. I remember it was a house of three. When my cousin took me to the house, many people had already gone out, and only a few people were left doing nothing in the house. Someone was saying something in the room, but I couldn't hear clearly. Everyone who met me was very friendly to me, as if they were guests from afar.

After I took a shower, lunch was probably ready, and others were returning to the house one after another. The food was very simple. A team of about ten people sat together, with two large plates filled with vegetables, including potatoes, cucumbers, and some meat on the side. Everyone is very satisfied. Before eating, the leader of the team needs to say a few words and then tell everyone to eat. After picking up chopsticks, everyone will pick up food for each other and greet each other with smiles. You will feel that the scene looks like family, but is actually very awkward.

After lunch, everyone will take a lunch break. There are two rooms for boys and one room for girls. The place where they just ate has become a place for lunch break. No one asked me where I came from or what I came to do. I wanted to ask them, but the other person shook his head and said nothing, or looked at you and smiled.

After the lunch break, everyone gathered together to listen to one of the people's lectures. A small blackboard was carried into the dining area. Not everyone was listening to the class. Some people went out. Only a few people who were not familiar with the course content stayed in the room to listen to the class. A young man began to give a lecture, and I remember the content very clearly.

He first told a story, which is said to have been personally experienced by Jing Yidan, the former host of CCTV. It is said that Jing Yidan once went to the grassland for an interview and met a little boy herding sheep. Jing Yidan asked him: "Why do you herd sheep?" "Selling money!" said the little boy. "What are you selling for?" Jing Yidan asked again. "Marry a wife!" "What do you do with a wife?" "Have a baby!" "What happens after you give birth to a baby?" "Herd sheep!"

After telling this story, everyone in the class laughed. Later, I You know, they've heard it no less than five times, but they still laugh loudly. This story is not from Jing Yidan, but a short story spread on the Internet.

After telling this story, the lecturer will ask, do you want to be this kind of sheepherder? The answer is of course no. So he began to analyze why the price of a product from production to customers is so much higher than the cost price? That's because it goes through many dealers, and after each level of profit sharing, the price increases. Then he said that their organization sells goods directly from manufacturers to customers, eliminating the need for dealers, and all profits are in their hands. This is their team’s model – direct sales.

After this matter was explained clearly, the course was over, but from beginning to end, the lecturer never said what they were selling.

The purpose of the lecture is not only to let the listeners know that this is a direct sales model, but also to let the listeners finally learn this rhetoric and teach new colleagues. So every time someone finished talking about the course content, someone would get up and go to the small blackboard and teach to the air like the person who just lectured. In addition to the continuous content, speed is also an indicator of success. Whoever finishes speaking the content faster will get more applause.

The afternoon of the first day was spent listening to lectures, and soon we were having dinner together. The same lunch dishes were served, and the same group of people sat together. Every time before the meal begins, the little leader will tell a story, probably some inspirational story, and then everyone will applaud and start eating. During the meal, the little leader also asked others to share their stories, and the whole atmosphere was very enjoyable.

It was July in Yiwu, and the weather was very hot. After dinner, no one would go out. There was no TV or other entertainment in the house. After eating, some people started to wash the dishes, and others had their own activities, such as playing chess, playing cards, or going to bed early. At this time, the little leader would talk to some of them alone, and some people would also start to take the initiative to chat with me. Because my cousin is also here, the little leader leaves all my affairs to my cousin.

I must admit that although I don’t know what this group of people are doing, subconsciously, I don’t think this organization is also a pyramid scheme, because my life safety has not been compromised. The freedom of life is not restricted.

On my third day there, my cousin and the people in the house took me to another place. It was a large basement, and there were people outside welcoming people who joined in. Hundreds of people were gathering in a huge space. The content of the party was very simple. After everyone sat down, the same lecturer gave a lecture. The content was the same as what we heard in the room. There was no difference. Then, a row of colleagues who had just joined took the stage to talk about their past experiences, including many recent graduates. Everyone felt that they had come to the right place, and some even burst into tears.

At the end of the event, accompanied by music, all the new colleagues cheered on the stage. Then the biggest boss in the group would ask them one by one if they wanted to join, and everyone else would yell like crazy to join. My cousin pushed me on stage, but I had no intention of joining this organization. I just came to see her. Finally, when the person stood in front of me and asked me loudly if I wanted to join, I mumbled a yes and hurriedly left the stage.

The normal party lasted less than an hour. When I came out, I felt like my eardrums were going to rupture. We did not return to the house that belonged to us, but to another house in another community. Except for being a little brighter, this place is similar to the house I stayed in. It just feels like there are a lot of people here.

A group of people gathered in the house. One of them was sitting and telling another person about the course we had just finished. Seeing my new face, the man sitting asked me to come over. I sat across from him and he asked me if I knew what these people were doing. I can't tell you clearly, I'm new here. Then he continued to tell me about the course. Apart from the tone, I couldn't hear any difference in the content, so much so that I still remember the lessons clearly.

After that, the other party didn’t ask any more questions, so we returned to the original house. Another evening, we started to have dinner. The same process was repeated on the first day, and everyone finished the day very satisfied.

What I must make clear is that although I am not sure whether this team is an MLM organization, I am very sure that I am not interested in this model, so no matter how many times the other party talks to me, no matter how many times the other party talks to me, Whether I understand what the other person is doing or not is not interesting to me. At that time, I was full of passion for journalism, and I only wanted to work in a newspaper after graduation. This is a story later. I just want to say that those courses did not make me tempted to join this team.

After about four days, I felt really bored, so I asked my cousin that I wanted to go home. Now that I see that she is not being bullied here, I feel that my task has been completed, and I tell myself with certainty that she will not go back with me.

When I was at Yiwu Railway Station, my cousin finally told me about the products they were selling.

It was a set of toiletries and makeup products, and the price seemed to be 2,980 yuan per set. I have forgotten how she told me how to make money from this set of things. She just said that after selling one set, you can make a lot of money. But where the money behind this comes from, she did not say, and I am not interested. interest. Just like that, after I refused to buy it, I returned home alone and told my family what I had seen.

The matter did not end there. About half a year later, my family called me and said that my cousin was still there and had not returned. I probably knew what was going on, but my family had already made a plan to call her back, even if she was kidnapped.

So during the winter vacation that winter, my uncle, I and another friend went to Yiwu together. We called our cousin to ask her out, and when we saw her, we grabbed her and got in the car and went straight to the train station. However, as the taxi passed a roundabout, my cousin screamed for help, and we were stopped by the police, who ended up going to the local police station. Because my cousin was unwilling to follow us home, in the end my uncle and I had no choice but to go home, and my cousin returned to that place.

I still don’t know how my cousin finally left that organization, and she has never mentioned it. Now she has become a mother and has settled down in Yiwu, living a pretty good life. When I read the news about Li Wenxing in the past two days, I suddenly felt that she was very lucky. After all, not everyone can escape from the clutches of that kind of organization. In fact, I have always wanted to ask her why she didn't leave in the first place.

Part of the blame for Li Wenxing's incident should be attributed to the recruitment website for helping the evildoer, but the main culprit of this tragedy should be the MLM organization. After what happened to my cousin, I heard from many friends around me that the deeds of MLM organizations were all extremely bad, and some even completely restricted the freedom of life. If they didn't attract people down the line, their lives would be in danger. In addition to Li Wenxing, there are tens of thousands of people who are unable to escape from MLM organizations.

Many people say that MLM organizations are scary because there is no way out, and even if you get out, you will still have to shed your skin. However, in my opinion, what is more terrifying than entering an MLM organization is being in it without knowing that you have become someone else's downline. Some even know that it is a MLM scam and still treat it as gambling. A handful. The former is caused by ignorance and brainwashing, while the latter is caused by being too smart and will eventually be misled by cleverness.

MLM organizations have penetrated into many fields, from the Guangxi 1040 Sunshine Project, which is now an economic development zone, to the charity-based charity Shanxinhui which was dismantled a few days ago. The popularization of Internet technology, This kind of fraud has spread rapidly. In addition, my country's current laws are too vague to define pyramid schemes, and some places even allow them to develop, or they end up "taking advantage of others". Multiple factors have led to MLM organizations becoming more and more rampant.

This gray area is expanding, and if it is not rectified, there will be endless consequences. Some people say that this is a beautiful era for MLM, and even if it continues to be popular for another ten years, it is unknown. Because the current factors that resist the prevalence of MLM cannot make a difference at all. In an era of rapid development, any reason can trigger a scam. From the lowest working class to the middle class, they may be involved in various pyramid schemes. It's just that some people pull back from the cliff and quit in time, while some people don't want to appear.