While scrolling through social media, also be wary of what appear to be harmless holiday surveys. If prices are much lower than elsewhere, it's likely a scam. Parker also said there is no way a festival can offer tickets at extremely low prices without losing money. The BBB also suggested you search online for the name of the festival and make sure the name advertised matches the website and make sure the festival website has a real phone number and email address. The "event's" organizers advertise on social media, take your money, but then there is never an event.Īlyssa Parker with the Better Business Bureau of Eastern North Carolina said, "Make sure you research any organization putting on the event, see if there have been previous events, and it's always great to see if there is a track record." While it may seem harmless and some people may say it works, it is known as a pyramid scheme, which is illegal.įake holiday events are also being shared. It typically starts with a post on Facebook or another social media platform.Įvery year there is a different twist, where people are asked to send their favorite bottle of wine, book, or just a small gift to just one person on the list, and then they will receive several gifts in return. (WTVD) - The Secret Santa gift exchange is shared on social media every year, but it's illegal and is considered a form of gambling. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.The Secret Santa gift exchange is shared on social media every year, but it's still a holiday gift exchange that's illegal and is considered a form of gambling. Market holidays and trading hours provided by Copp Clark Limited. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices Copyright S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and/or its affiliates. Standard & Poor’s and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Chicago Mercantile: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. US market indices are shown in real time, except for the S&P 500 which is refreshed every two minutes. Your CNN account Log in to your CNN account And more than likely, they won’t make good on their promise because all pyramid schemes eventually run out of participants and fail. They aren’t, the BBB says, because they are illegal. Some schemes claim they’re supported by the government. Some are less formal than others, like “Secret Sister,” and could take shape on social media, online ads or YouTube videos. If a venture runs on recruitment, doesn’t sell a genuine product or service and promises high returns in a short period of time, it might be a pyramid scheme, the US Securities and Exchange Commission says. If handing over emails and addresses is required to partake in a gift exchange, keep scrolling. The major difference, according to the Federal Trade Commission, is that pyramid schemes are against the law.ĭon’t trust strangers on the internet with your personal information, the BBB advises. Some pyramid schemes masquerade as legal multilevel marketing companies, which also rely on continued recruitment with often minimal returns. But once users stop joining, the gifts stop flowing and all the gift givers waiting on their presents are left disappointed. Like any pyramid scheme, this one thrives on continued recruitment – the bigger the pool of participants, the longer it’ll keep running. And they don’t know what these strangers will do with their personal information, which could open them up to cybersecurity breaches, the BBB said. That's way more than any other reported fraudīut users often don’t know who they’re buying gifts for or whether those internet strangers will return the favor. PHOTO: THINKSTOCK ILLUSTRATION: EMILY CARTER/CNNMONEYĪmericans lost $143 million in online romance scams last year.
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