Dave Ritchie over at RealScam.com had an excellent suggestion for a very quick "due diligence" test: ask for their "IRS Schedule C", which is where their sole proprietor income will be reported, and most MLM income will be reported as schedule C. (Corp or partnership income are reported slightly differently, but if they are serious they should have equivalent documentation)
Once it becomes apparent your encounter with anyone is or will be taking place in the context of their role as an MLM business opportunity seller, control of your part in the encounter is completely in your hands. Simply ask the seller to defer their pitch (interrupt if you must) and inform them that it’s your practice to require reliable and objective evidence of a business opportunity’s viability before you invest your time listening to an entire presentation.
The evidence you will request is a true copy of your seller’s most recently filed IRS Schedule C for their MLM business. Line 31 shows their “Net profit or (loss)”. If this figure is positive, the proposition may merit further investigation, although you’re not necessarily safe. If on the other hand, line 31 shows a net loss, you’d be wise to assume that you too would sustain net losses in the same business.This test is so simple, you can remember it easily. The penalty of filing fake tax return should make most people hesitant to pass you a fake document.
Go read the full suggestion as it goes into a bit more detail on how to follow up when your recruiter start to hem and haw, or have his/her jaw drop as s/he tries to find the relevant counter in his/her sales script.
http://www.realscam.com/blogs/dave-ritchie/375-simple-strategy-distinguish-between-mlm-business-opportunities-bankruptcy-opportunities.html
While individuals aren't usually dumb enough to fake a tax return, evil scam companies are known to do so... and actually FILING such documents with the IRS. Zeek Rewards COO Dawn Wright-Olivares and her Stepson Dan Olivares just plead guilty on Feb-5-2014 in North Carolina to several counts of tax fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and other criminal charges. They issued huge bogus tax income claims, when they paid out nowhere near that amount (most of the money was "repurchase", i.e. plowed back into the Ponzi) and then told members to tout their IRS schedule C as "proof" of their income.
ReplyDeleteFor details, please search keyword "dawn wright-olivares guilty plea" in any search engine you use. You can also find various articles about Zeek Rewards scam on this blog, by using "search this blog" box to your right.