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→Connection to multi-level marketing: not all countries permit mlms |
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=== The "eight ball" model ===
[[File:Airplane game.svg|thumb|The "eight-ball" model contains a total of fifteen members. Note that it is
Many pyramids are more sophisticated than the simple model. These recognize that recruiting a large number of others into a scheme can be difficult, so a seemingly simpler model is used. In this model each person must recruit two others, but the ease of achieving this is offset because the depth required to recoup any money also increases. The scheme requires a person to recruit two others, who must each recruit two others, and so on.
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission warns against becoming involved "in plans where the money you make is based primarily on the number of distributors you recruit and your sales to them, rather than on your sales to people outside the plan who intend to use the products."<ref name="ftc.gov">{{cite web |url=http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/invest/inv08.shtm |title=Multilevel Marketing |date=4 January 2018 |publisher=Federal Trade Commission |access-date=2018-06-20 |quote=There are multi-level marketing plans – and then there are pyramid schemes. Before signing on the dotted line, study the company's track record, ask lots of questions, and seek out independent opinions about the business.}}</ref>
Some commentators contend that MLMs in general are nothing more than legalized pyramid schemes.<ref name="Carroll 2003 235">{{cite book |last=Carroll |first=Robert Todd |title=The Skeptic's Dictionary: A Collection of Strange Beliefs, Amusing Deceptions, and Dangerous Delusions |publisher=Wiley |year=2003 |page=[https://archive.org/details/skepticsdictiona00carr_024/page/n241 235] |url=https://archive.org/details/skepticsdictiona00carr_024 |url-access=limited |isbn=0-471-27242-6}}</ref><ref name="Coenen 2009 168">{{cite book |last=Coenen |first=Tracy |title=Expert Fraud Investigation: A Step-by-Step Guide |publisher=Wiley |year=2009 |page=[https://archive.org/details/expertfraudinves00coen_262/page/n172 168] |url=https://archive.org/details/expertfraudinves00coen_262 |url-access=limited |isbn=978-0-470-38796-2}}</ref><ref name="Salinger Editor 2005 880">{{Cite book |editor-last=Salinger |editor-first=Lawrence M. |title=Encyclopedia of White-Collar & Corporate Crime |publisher=Sage Publishing |year=2005 |volume=2 |page=880 |isbn=0-7619-3004-3}}</ref>
== Legality ==
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