Bob:
My friend is always trying to stir up something. And he opened his own businesses - everyone was bent, and invested in others - burned out. Here he has another idea - investment in olive trees somewhere in Georgia. He claims that this is just a super enterprise - profitable, reliable, environmentally friendly. I will be a planter, he says. Itself caught fire and agitates me.
Well, I already know what his projects are fraught with, but I decided to take a look. He threw me a link: a beautiful site with legal documents and contacts of some Georgian company. Even with a guaranteed income calculator. Everything is supposedly very transparent. And no risks.
One plant costs from $ 95 and more - depending on what year it is planted. The sooner, the more expensive. The tree grows and gradually becomes more expensive - about 20% every year. If you wish, you can sell it there on the site and earn money.
Plus, it also yields a harvest of olives, from which oil is made, will be sold on a special exchange - and this will bring another 30% and more. But you will only make a profit in the fourth year - before that the tree does not bear fruit. As a result, allegedly in three years it will be possible to double their investments, and in five years - to get 200% of the profit. Crazy profitability. Moreover, the formula for these complex calculations cannot be viewed, only the online calculator knows it and gives the result.
They suggest buying a few trees and seriously weld on it. And also, they write, an olive tree is a great gift, prestigious and profitable! And there is no need to go anywhere - you can invest online, there is no need to go to the plantations either - look at the beautiful pictures "from the fields". In short, "super convenient".
And yes, I almost forgot - if you invite your acquaintances to the project, you will additionally receive 5% of the money they contributed.
Friend, I tell him, does it remind you of anything? Call your buddies, get easy money. Hmmm already forgotten? No, he says, everything is solid here.
Showed him the user agreement. And it says that the company is not responsible for anything at all. So you will give the money to her, but what she will do with it is no longer in your power. And if anything, she's out of business. Obviously, it’s a divorce. But a friend nevertheless bought a couple of olive trees for himself - now he brags to everyone and, it seems, even persuaded someone to invest.
Financial Culture Expert:
The described scheme really has clear signs of a financial pyramid. Only its organizers usually manage to make money on such a "business".
It is immediately alarming that they promise an impressive, and pre-known profit. But the return on investment cannot be accurately predicted, much less guaranteed. And the higher the expected percentage, the more chances of losing everything. At the same time, the company promotes investment in trees as a completely safe tool.
But in the case of olive plantations (even when they actually exist), climatic cataclysms can occur, and trees will suffer. Or vice versa - the harvest will be unusually large and the prices of olive oil will fall. You cannot calculate your future investment income using an online calculator. If you are assured otherwise, they want to deceive you.
The scheme for calculating profit is not transparent - it is not clear how certain factors affect income. As a rule, the more elaborate a formula you are offered, the more likely it is that they are trying to mislead you.
But investing money is very easy - just go to the site and make a transfer. In this case, the user does not have any signed contracts or agreements. It will be simply impossible to prove your rights to these olive trees (if they really grow somewhere), olives and oil.
The organizers urge to bring friends and acquaintances and promise additional profit for this. This is most often done by the builders of the pyramids. In fact, they just want to quickly collect as much money as possible and hide.
And one more important point - the company itself is registered in another state (if the site contains real details). Such projects are especially convenient to advertise during a pandemic, because people do not have the opportunity to visit plantations with closed borders and check whether their trees really "grow and bear fruit".
If problems begin with payments, the police, prosecutor's office and the court will be unable to help the victims. To try to get the money back, you will have to contact the law enforcement agencies of the country where the company is registered, and spend money on the services of foreign lawyers. In such a situation, the chances of a return on investment are even less than in the case of scammers.
You can read more about the signs of pyramids in the text "Financial pyramid: how to recognize it". How to act if you have suffered losses as a result of such fraud, read the article "What to do if you become a victim of a financial pyramid".
My friend is always trying to stir up something. And he opened his own businesses - everyone was bent, and invested in others - burned out. Here he has another idea - investment in olive trees somewhere in Georgia. He claims that this is just a super enterprise - profitable, reliable, environmentally friendly. I will be a planter, he says. Itself caught fire and agitates me.
Well, I already know what his projects are fraught with, but I decided to take a look. He threw me a link: a beautiful site with legal documents and contacts of some Georgian company. Even with a guaranteed income calculator. Everything is supposedly very transparent. And no risks.
One plant costs from $ 95 and more - depending on what year it is planted. The sooner, the more expensive. The tree grows and gradually becomes more expensive - about 20% every year. If you wish, you can sell it there on the site and earn money.
Plus, it also yields a harvest of olives, from which oil is made, will be sold on a special exchange - and this will bring another 30% and more. But you will only make a profit in the fourth year - before that the tree does not bear fruit. As a result, allegedly in three years it will be possible to double their investments, and in five years - to get 200% of the profit. Crazy profitability. Moreover, the formula for these complex calculations cannot be viewed, only the online calculator knows it and gives the result.
They suggest buying a few trees and seriously weld on it. And also, they write, an olive tree is a great gift, prestigious and profitable! And there is no need to go anywhere - you can invest online, there is no need to go to the plantations either - look at the beautiful pictures "from the fields". In short, "super convenient".
And yes, I almost forgot - if you invite your acquaintances to the project, you will additionally receive 5% of the money they contributed.
Friend, I tell him, does it remind you of anything? Call your buddies, get easy money. Hmmm already forgotten? No, he says, everything is solid here.
Showed him the user agreement. And it says that the company is not responsible for anything at all. So you will give the money to her, but what she will do with it is no longer in your power. And if anything, she's out of business. Obviously, it’s a divorce. But a friend nevertheless bought a couple of olive trees for himself - now he brags to everyone and, it seems, even persuaded someone to invest.
Financial Culture Expert:
The described scheme really has clear signs of a financial pyramid. Only its organizers usually manage to make money on such a "business".
It is immediately alarming that they promise an impressive, and pre-known profit. But the return on investment cannot be accurately predicted, much less guaranteed. And the higher the expected percentage, the more chances of losing everything. At the same time, the company promotes investment in trees as a completely safe tool.
But in the case of olive plantations (even when they actually exist), climatic cataclysms can occur, and trees will suffer. Or vice versa - the harvest will be unusually large and the prices of olive oil will fall. You cannot calculate your future investment income using an online calculator. If you are assured otherwise, they want to deceive you.
The scheme for calculating profit is not transparent - it is not clear how certain factors affect income. As a rule, the more elaborate a formula you are offered, the more likely it is that they are trying to mislead you.
But investing money is very easy - just go to the site and make a transfer. In this case, the user does not have any signed contracts or agreements. It will be simply impossible to prove your rights to these olive trees (if they really grow somewhere), olives and oil.
The organizers urge to bring friends and acquaintances and promise additional profit for this. This is most often done by the builders of the pyramids. In fact, they just want to quickly collect as much money as possible and hide.
And one more important point - the company itself is registered in another state (if the site contains real details). Such projects are especially convenient to advertise during a pandemic, because people do not have the opportunity to visit plantations with closed borders and check whether their trees really "grow and bear fruit".
If problems begin with payments, the police, prosecutor's office and the court will be unable to help the victims. To try to get the money back, you will have to contact the law enforcement agencies of the country where the company is registered, and spend money on the services of foreign lawyers. In such a situation, the chances of a return on investment are even less than in the case of scammers.
You can read more about the signs of pyramids in the text "Financial pyramid: how to recognize it". How to act if you have suffered losses as a result of such fraud, read the article "What to do if you become a victim of a financial pyramid".
