When I encounter this term, I immediately thought of how "sheeple", i.e. those victims ready to be fleeced, tend to fall for one scheme after another, not necessarily at the same time, but they are vulnerable to cross recruitment, i.e. "here's something else that'd be good for you". To my surprise, there is no such term. While sheeple is defined, and there are related terms such as reload scam, the phenomenon that a sheeple can believe in multiple unrelated scams is not a term.
So let me coin the term now: sheeple magnetism... phenomenon describing a sheeple, who fell for one scam, is often vulnerable to other scams.
Ponzi scheme victims are the most often found examples of sheeple magnetism, esp. if they were among the "net winners", i.e the minority who got more out of the scheme than they put in (so the rest are net losers). They were often given "contrafreeloading" tasks to make them believe they "earned" their money. Such "victims" will go on to a different scheme that they recognize to be of a similar structure: way too easy work, way too much money, and believe they found their path to riches.
Many schemes are started by former members of another scheme, esp. if they are of the "inner circle", the few who are privy to the actual backend operations. The perpetrator of Ad Surf Daily scheme, "Andy" Bowdoin, was a member of 12DailyPro ponzi operated by Charis Johnson. Ad Surf Daily was started merely 6 months after Feds took down 12DailyPro.
Many members of Ad Surf Daily went on to found or join several other ponzi schemes. Indeed, when you trace "career" of such, many of them just join one scheme after another and start their own at times. Indeed, most MLMs can be traced this way as well.
What they don't understand is they had entered an alternate reality where they BELIEVE they are entitled to the money that had been taken from others through false promises. Some may even accept that they are spending other people's money, but then they take the indignant attitude "they shouldn't play if they can't afford to lose", i.e. victim-blaming. Paul Burks, head of ZeekRewards, was well known to have told a newspaper reporter to tell everybody not to blame him, that they should not play with money they can't afford to lose, after Zeek was shut down by the US Secret Service.
And even the victims who LOST money are vulnerable to such pitches, because they believe there is a shortcut to money, and whatever they encountered that victimized them was an aberration, and they just need to try a few more to find the "right" one, not believing that there is no such thing, and only insiders and a few judas goats actually make money from Ponzi schemes.
Sheeple, those who are vulnerable to scams, being lead around by judas goats, are also vulnerable to sheeple magnetism, in that they also believe other crank ideas about making money. This will lead them to fall for further scams.
Related articles
Is it just series of bad judgment, or "once a thief, always a thief"?(amlmskeptic.blogspot.com)
Scam Tactics: False citing of legislation or certification authority(amlmskeptic.blogspot.com)
Cognitive Bias: Choice Supportive Bias (aka Post-hoc Rationalization)(amlmskeptic.blogspot.com)
ReplyDeletePhenomenal site. keep shining sunlight. it makes the cockroaches scatter. but unfortunately, speaking against MLM is like preaching to the masses in Mad Max.
MLMers are funny. they always come back with the same tiresome, nonsensical arguments. i think part of the problem is the idea that there are 'good MLMs and bad MLMs'. the fact is the underlying structure of MLM is fraudulent. The only way to really make money (enough to live on) is in recruiting. For those that are making that type of money, it is not coming from retailing product, it is coming from people below them who believe they can make money retailing product, and so on , and so on. everyone is chasing an infinite share of their own finite dollars. And what happens is you get a few people in the middle who make some money and they really believe that this is due to hard work & good sales skills, which of course is a lie. there is very little retail purchasing in MLMs, and the industry has purposely gone out of its way to obfuscate any attempt at measuring or reporting it..... it is these people that are the useful idiots to the company owners because they stand up, 'tell their story' , and mobilize others through false hope .. for the 1st time in life they believe they are accomplished, successful, etc, and they stand up and tell the world about the great opportunity. this is the 'churn' process.
Some, to give the benefit of the doubt, really do believe that is the truth, and are not knowingly deceiving. eventually, and fortunately, some of these 'success stories' do fess up at some point in their lives, you can find plenty doing your diligence on the internet.
The products are strawmen. Attacking the products is a waste of time. if someone wants to spend $40 on powder sugar shake mix, or snakeoil cream then more power to them, its a free market. the products are what they are, commoditized crap that you can get elsewhere. the problem with MLM is that the sale actually being made, the actual clearing of supply/demand, is a fraudulent business opportunity. period. No matter what the product is.
here are indisputable truths of MLM
– the product is a strawman, commoditized, overpriced garbage.
– people do not make money selling the products, they make money selling the idea of making money by selling products. its endless, until it ends…
– everyone gets promised infinite shares of their own finite dollars.
– Herbalife is the gold standard MLM and the FTC just said they “need to start operating legitimately”… They wont be able to operate legitimately over the long term because there is no demand separate from the business opportunity, and eventually will shut in the US.
A lot of ‘investors’ in Madoff made money also.