Codeword: "Unique Matrix System"

Just wanted to give you guys another tip to protect yourself online. These "Unique Matrix Systems" are popping up all over the internet. The most popular one seems to cost only $3, and claims that it will pay you around $20,000.

Now, hopefully you already know that paying for any money making program isn't a good idea, with the number of scams out there. But these low-priced ones might tempt you to take the chance - after all, if it's a scam you're only out $3 and if it's not you'll aparently make thousands. So it seems like it might be worth the risk.

However, be aware that there might be a bigger risk involved - the risk of being arrested.

I don't know which of these programs are scams and which aren't - I'm sure a couple of them must be legitimate - but if you look into the details, you'll find that most of them are pyramid schemes. This means that they are illegal, both for the owner and the people that join - and besides that, even the scam-free ones are generally fairly short-lived. So it's hardly worth the risk.

So, what is a pyramid scheme?

A lot of people seem to think that a pyramid scheme is any program that asks you to pay money and then refer people. If that was true, then there'd be a lot of illegal PTC sites out there.

A pyramid scheme is quite different. You pay a one-time amount, and then refer people. The idea is that you will get a percentage of the fee payed by the people you refer, and the people they refer, and the people those people refer... and so on, indefinitely. If there is a limit to this downline building (i.e. the sites that let you collect a percentage of the profits from the people you refer, or the people your referals refer, but it ends there), then it is still legal. However, if you're indefinitely earning money from everyone that gets referred down the line, it is likely illegal.

Some of these sites even illustrate the pyramid that gives pyramid schemes their name. I'm sure you've seen it tons of times. The diagram that shows a little stick figure - presumably you - at the top, then two people under you, then two people under each of those people... and so on to infinity.

It seems to make sense when you first join. But I promise you, the site will eventually run out of money and the owners will likely run off with whatever bit of cash they still have left - leaving you waiting for a payout that will never come. Besides that, you run the risk of having police show up at your door if they ever look into the illegal site, because it is just as illegal for the owners to make the site as it is for you to join it.