The illusion of easy wealth: why are Uzbeks falling for scammers again and again?
Kun.uz analyzed the operation scheme of financial pyramids, how they attract people, and what to pay attention to in order to avoid falling into this trap, using the example of "Seven Jade".
The illusion of easy wealth: why are Uzbeks falling for scammers again and again?
Uzbekistan has become one of the "hot markets" for cyber scammers. Recently, we have been frequently hearing about financial pyramids that promise lucrative profits and swindle tens of thousands of people out of billions of money. Despite this, instead of facing a crisis, this type of fraud market is, on the contrary, "flourishing."
What is a financial pyramid?
The operating principle of financial pyramids relies on constantly attracting new people and their investments into the system. In this process, the profits of those who joined the network earlier are covered solely at the expense of the money of those who join later. Often, such projects require members to pay a certain amount of contribution and to bring at least two or more people into the network. When these conditions are met, it is guaranteed that the invested funds will be returned with a very large share.
In most cases, pyramids register under the guise of a legitimate commercial enterprise and claim to be collecting "investments" to implement some fake projects. They promise customers long-term and excessively high returns, even though this is economically absolutely impossible. In reality, however, such structures do not create any real product or value; their activity depends solely on the payments of new members. It is this aspect that sharply distinguishes pyramids from real business. Due to the lack of any production and unfulfillable promises, any financial pyramid eventually collapses. To gain people's trust at first, the founders of the pyramid pay the promised profits to the initial members. News of the payments spreads quickly among relatives and acquaintances, serving to further develop the organizers' "business."
The largest and most sensational financial fraud network observed in the history of Uzbekistan was undoubtedly created by Ahmadjon Tursunboyev from Chinoz and his accomplices. During the investigation, it was revealed that within the framework of the "Ahmadboy case," 11,700 people were affected, and the total material damage caused to them amounted to 418 billion 293 million soums. This amounted to more than 142 million dollars at the official exchange rate of that time, and nearly 70 million dollars at the black market rate.