Ponzi schemes gaining prominence in Nigeria

MMM, CROWDFUNDING, PEER TO PEER , TWINKAS etc, the names are endless. Have you fallen a victim to a ponzi scheme? This is my story.

I have always heard of ponzi schemes, but never thought I would be part and parcel of such racket. I was maid to believe that ponzi schemes were for the greedy ones. I didn’t think at the time that I would become so greedy and fall a victim. I had friends inviting me from different social media sites to come join in the fun, but I rebuffed them all. I calmly said to myself, you will not fall for these traps.

Then came a certain friend whom I had known from my school days. She was well liked, trusted and came from a powerful background. She had nothing to lose either way, because she was from a rich home, married to a rich man. When she spoke , I listened and trusted her words. She didn’t have to convince me much, but because I so knew her, withing 30 minutes of our conversation, I agreed. That was the beginning of my problems.

I now joined a ponzi scheme, paid my dues as requested, opened my site, new account etc. I was excited and so looking forward to all the returns from my new found wealth. Well, one week into the scheme, I was made to open a new telegram app for receiving and sending messages to all those in this new scheme of ours. I gladly joined, saw other members, my hopes were raised with anticipation of my new found wealth. Two weeks into the scheme, I started getting messages about the government probing this new scheme to see if they were legit. I had nothing to contribute, but just kept numb about it all. All this while, I never mentioned this to anybody, no member of my family or colleague knew, just me and the person that introduced me.

Weeks went by, same old, same old. I never called my mentor, I was just watching in the background. All I could do was hope, so I would silently go to my account to check if there were daily amounts dropping in as told. Yes, I saw a token or fraction of what I paid sliding in daily, but all that was in the portal of the scheme’s website. The newly generated account number I got with a reputable bank had no sign of money. I became confused why I had nothing to show in the account except the money I used to open the account.

In the group I noticed people were already becoming frustrated and agitated. I was afraid deep inside, but said nothing. Members were beginning to say we should not lose hope but rather pray that things go as planned. I laughed, that was when I knew something was up.  So as God would have it, my friend or mentor called me and explained everything to me, she’s sorry for what happened. The company had issues that could not be resolved, so she would like to refund my hard earned money. I leaped with joy and thanked her tremendously. I was so thankful and grateful to God for this eye opener. It was a lesson learnt.