These days, even friends I meet are asking the question: Can you make money from the MTFE Platform? Is it a pyramid scheme?
I’ve reviewed the website before, and here’s my understanding:
👉 A pyramid scheme is:
A financial scheme where an individual pays to gain the right to recruit others into the scheme and earn income from it, is known as a pyramid scheme.
A key characteristic of this is that individuals who join the scheme must introduce more new members to the business in order to generate income.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has released detailed information about this (PDF).
👉 Ponzi schemes are:
An updated version of pyramid schemes. The distinctive feature here is that the pyramid structure we discussed earlier is not easily recognizable, and there may or may not be a broker involved, allowing direct involvement in the scheme.
In this method, the most frequently heard word is “investment.” In reality, what happens here is that a company or individual tells you that if you invest a certain amount with their company, they will pay you a percentage of that amount as profit within a specific period. Usually, when you look at the numbers, this amount is higher than the interest rate on a fixed deposit in a bank. That’s why people are more attracted to this. In this method, you might see the following:
🔴 Referral earning (earning commissions by enrolling new members)
🔴 Investment plans (they use fancy names for these, e.g., $10 per day, Gold member package, Silver member package)
🔴 Daily tasks (e.g., AI trading, points collecting, placing a trade for five minutes and then relaxing)
🔴 Cryptocurrency
🔴 Helping innocent people to build a reputation, branch openings
🔴 Even people working in government or private institutions investing money (this can also be seen as a way to build a reputation)
👉 Can you really make money?
Yes, you can, but through these fraudulent schemes.
👉 What happens to those who promote these and earn money?
According to section 83C of the Banking Act No. 30 of 1988, engaging in such schemes is a punishable offense, and the punishment can be imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to one million rupees, or both, depending on the severity.
Additionally, violating the above provisions of the 1988 Banking Act, as well as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act No. 5 of 2006 and the Financial Transactions Reporting Act No. 6 of 2006, can lead to further punishments.
Those involved in such businesses will do various things to attract you into these scams:
- Meet-ups
- Trips
- Impressive programs
- Online meetings
You need to act cautiously and avoid getting involved in such activities.
🔴 Some people who do this genuinely do not know what it is or what will happen, and this is written for them to understand.
🔴 There is also a section of people who are aware of what this is and still engage in it.
The most dangerous thing I see here is the belief and the instillation of belief that their position in these methods is at the top.
Such a platform can run for a limited period, which could be 3-5 months or 1-2 years.
I think you now have a good understanding of these platforms.