What is a pyramid scheme?
הונאת פירמידה היא סוג מתוחכם מאוד של הונאה שכל מטרתה היא לעשוק עוד ועוד נפגעים. כל עוד מפעיל הונאת הפירמידה מצליח "לגייס" עוד עוד קורבנות, ההונאה עשויה שלא להיחשף במשך שנים רבות.
Pyramid schemes are very common in the field of financial investments or in an area where the victim expects to make money, and this is how they work today: The fraudster sets up a website that presents itself as an investment house or trading platform. The fraudster asks other websites, known in the field in which that website or institution operates, to write about it and advertise it as a legitimate business (usually in exchange for a fee for the advertising). This is intended to create the impression of an authentic business.
The site supposedly presents recommendations from other people who have invested money through it and made huge profits. To further convince victims that this is a legitimate site or trading platform, the site will present a commitment that if the client loses money as a result of the investments, the site/trading platform will cover the losses at the site's expense.
To further convince victims, the site may feature well-known names who allegedly transferred funds to the site for investment, and may even feature well-known figures from the financial sector who allegedly work with or for the same investment platform. Photos of those people in fancy offices or traveling in luxury cars will be displayed.
The image that a pyramid scheme operator wants to present is one of wealth. Everyone wins and no one loses. In this way, more and more people will be convinced to transfer a lot of money to the investment platform because people are attracted to success and wealth. Those who are not rich will want to become rich as quickly as possible, and it is precisely on this desire that a pyramid scheme is built.
Why isn't it always easy to identify a pyramid scheme?
A pyramid scheme can operate for many years and appear to be a legitimate business. People will invest money and occasionally receive profits from those investments. This is how someone who runs a pyramid scheme manages to run the scam for a long period of time:
He recruits the first victim who gives him, for example, 1000 shekels. Then he recruits the second victim who gives him 1000 shekels. Following the money received from the second victim, the crook pays the first victim a certain amount, which is a return or profit on his investment. Then the crook recruits the third victim who pays him 1000 shekels and he pays the second victim, and so on.
Over time, the scammer manages to recruit customers who pay him much more than 1,000 shekels. Sometimes even tens and hundreds of thousands of shekels. In extreme cases, even millions of shekels from a single victim.
In this way, the scammer always manages to pay his victims certain amounts of money every month, so that they never suspect that they are a victim of a pyramid scheme.
At some point, usually after at least a few months, the scammer will approach the first victim and offer to invest additional, much larger amounts of money. The victim will usually be very enthusiastic because he has received a nice return/profit for several months on his initial investment.
The victim will be willing to invest much more because he will assume that he will receive a much higher return/profit every month. The first victim will transfer the funds, and so the chain will continue – the second victim will also transfer much more funds, the third victim, the fourth and so on.
This time too, the scammer will be able to pay the first victim, the second, and so on from the additional funds he received. As long as the victims continue to contribute funds, the scammer will be able to continue paying his victims amounts of money every month.
This is why it is sometimes not easy, and even very difficult, to identify a pyramid scheme, and those who operate a pyramid scheme can profit. Hundreds of millions of shekels, even in a small country like Israel.
Signs that should raise suspicion that you have fallen victim to a pyramid scheme
At some point, the scammer who is running the scam will contact you and ask you to invest more money. If you refuse, the scammer may imply or explicitly say that if you do not invest the money, you may lose the money you have invested so far. It is important to understand that transferring more money will not help you get all of your money back.
Another sign that should turn on a red light is the scammer's ability or willingness to return your money. In other words, if you ask for your investment money back, the scammer will start making excuses as to why this is not possible at this stage or at all. It is very possible that shortly after you request your money back, the scammer will inform you that you lost all your money due to bad investments. In this way, the scammer will claim that he is not obligated to return your money to you at this stage.
What to do to try and get your money back (all or most of it)?
If you find out that you have fallen victim to a pyramid scheme, you need to act quickly to try and get as much money back as possible. In these cases, you will need to use the services of Fraud and deceit lawyer who knows how to deal with pyramid scams, and is experienced in submitting Lawsuits against fraudsters.
ברוב המקרים זהותו האמיתית של הנוכל לא תהיה ידועה לכם (הם משתמשים בזהויות גנובות או פיקטיביות לחלוטין). מה שכן יהיה ידוע לכם הוא חשבון הבנק אליו העברתם את הכספים. אם מדובר בחשבון בנק בחו"ל הסיכוי לקבל בחזרה את הכספים נמוך מאוד עד אפסי, או שיחייב אותכם להשקיע סכומי כסף משמעותיים מאוד כדי לקבל חזרה את הכסף (לדוגמה כדי לשכור עורכי דין או חוקרים פרטיים במדינה שבה נמצא חשבון הבנק אליו העברתם את הכספים).
If you transferred the funds to a bank account in Israel, you must file a police complaint and at the same time submit Claim against the bank and ask to receive Temporary relief In the form of a seizure of the bank account to which you transferred the funds, assuming that you do not know the true details of the fraudster. If you know the true details of the fraudster or fraudsters, you must file a lawsuit against them, but still file a request for a temporary seizure of the bank account.
Placing a lien on your bank account is necessary to ensure that you can get your money back at the end of the lawsuit. If a lien is not placed, the fraudster can transfer the funds to third parties and smuggle them out. In this situation, even if you win the lawsuit, you will not be able to get reimbursed by the fraudster.
Very experienced fraudsters open and close bank accounts regularly, so it may turn out that imposing a lien on the bank account to which you transferred the funds will not necessarily help. For this reason, it is worth considering conducting a financial investigation, using a private investigator who specializes in this, to try and locate additional bank accounts or assets (such as apartments or vehicles) that can be seized. The goal will be the same, to try and seize as many bank accounts or assets as possible so that it will be possible to be repaid from the fraudster at the end of the lawsuit.
If you manage to locate additional victims, this will significantly increase your chances of convincing the court that you were indeed the victim of a crook who operated a pyramid scheme.
If they succeeded To cheat you out of סכומי כסף משמעותיים שהועברו לחו"ל, את כל התהליך הזה תצטרכו לעבור בחו"ל. לא מדובר בחוויה נעימה או פשוטה, והדבר בהכרח יחייב אתכם להשקיע סכומי כסף לא מבוטלים. כאן כבר מדובר בשיקולי עלות מול תועלת. אם לצורך השבת מיליוני שקלים תצטרכו להשקיע עוד עשרות אלפי שקלים או מעט יותר מכך, יתכן מאוד שזה יהיה מהלך נכון מצידכם. יחד עם זאת, חשוב להבין שכמוכם יש כנראה עוד עשרות/מאות/אלפי קורבנות של הונאה פירמידה וייתכן שתגלו שהוגשו עוד תביעות רבות כנגד אותו נוכל, וכולם בסופו של דבר יצטרכו להתחלק בכסף שיאותר (אם יאותר) באמצעות הליכים משפטיים או בסיועה של המשטרה.
In conclusion
A pyramid scheme is a complex scam that often lasts a long time. As long as the scammer manages to recruit more and more victims, the scam may never be discovered, but most pyramid schemes are discovered because the scammer eventually fails to recruit more victims.
In a pyramid scheme, victims receive a certain amount of money from the scammer each month, which initially convinces them that the scheme is legitimate. At some point, the scammer will ask the victims to invest larger amounts of money, and after that point, in some cases, the victims will stop receiving money from the scammer each month or at some other time.
In order to deal with a pyramid scheme, you need to act quickly to seize the crook's property or the bank accounts to which you transferred the funds, all with the aim of preventing the crook from being able to smuggle out the money or assets, so that at the end of the lawsuit you can be repaid from him and not face a broken trough.
To significantly increase your chances of success in dealing with a crook in a pyramid scheme, it is highly recommended that you seek the services of a lawyer who is very experienced in handling cases of this type.
