Caveat emptor ' - Let the buyer beware, but in 'MLM' fraud, there have been no buyers !

Corporate Frauds Watch would like to thank R Uma Maheswara Rao for pointing out that there are still plenty of traditional, door-to-door vendors earning their living lawfully in India. However, the Kerala government cannot hope to prevent  'MLM income opportunity' fraud (disguised as 'lawful direct selling to the public' ) by introducing 'guidelines' which seek to define traditional direct selling to the public. This counter-productive policy is the same as describing the traditional insurance industry in an attempt to prohibit extortion rackets (disguised as the 'lawful sale of insurance'). In reality, since the insolvent victims of 'MLM' fraud have mostly been buying the effectively-unsaleable 'MLM' wampum themelves, in the false belief that this a proven plan to achieve 'total financial freedom,' the many profitable, traditional door-to-door vendors who still ply their trade in India, have no real connection with'MLM' fraud.

Due to the rise of supermarkets and the Internet, what has vanished in the USA and Europe are the previously-large numbers of door-to-door vendors who also used to earn their livings supplying everyday items. The same pattern is appearing all over the world. That said, there is still plenty of traditional direct retailing happening in the USA and Europe, through markets, shops, co-operatives, etc. For obvious reasons, certain door-to-door vending businesses have survived. One such business is the franchised-sale of frozen food from refrigerated vans. However, franchises like these, are usually limited to given geographical areas in order to make them economically- viable; whilst franchise companies are more-than-willing to make the audited-accounts of their existing, profitable franchisees available to would-be participants.  Tell-tale signs of  'MLM' frauds, are that there is never any limit placed on the number of so-called 'distributorships' in given geographical areas; whilst the existing, insolvent victims' accounts are never made available to new victims.

Corporate Frauds Watch (copyright 2011)