QUEBEC -- The Surete du Quebec (SQ) is urging the public to be cautious as a variety of pyramid schemes are currently affecting several regions in the province.
The scam involves fraudulent extortion by asking potential victims to invest a sum of money in the scheme.
The police point out that people who invest must in turn recruit people who will also agree to invest money and recruit other individuals in the hope that their initial investment will be multiplied. As a result, the new investor in turn becomes a recruiting agent.
The SQ reports that in some cases, scammers establish a temporary scheme to quickly pocket initial investments before disappearing. People therefore lose sometimes considerable sums of money.
Many of these pyramid-type investment systems are illegal. Those guilty of having participated in them can potentially face prison terms.
The SQ said that the Office de la protection du consommateur (OPC) recommends obtaining a legal opinion before making a decision involving a financial investment.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Mar. 18, 2020.
