Stop and ask, is it worth breaking the law? Report it instead to Canadian agencies or to the U.S. Chain letters involving money or valuable items and promise big returns are illegal. Ignore it! Keep in mind that pyramid schemes are international.The next time someone promises a bounty of gifts or cash by mail, email, or social media, BBB recommends the following: With just a few pieces of information, cyber thieves could expose you to future scams or commit identity theft. When signing up, the alleged campaign organizer is asking for personal information such as a mailing address or an email. There is another layer of danger to participating in these schemes. Postal Inspection Services explains that these gift exchanges are considered a form of gambling and that participants could be subject to penalties such as jail time, fines or a lawsuit for mail fraud. It should be noted that pyramid schemes are illegal in the US and Canada. Once people stop participating in the gift exchange, the gift supply stops as well, and leaves hundreds of disappointed people without their promised gifts. Just like any other pyramid scheme, it relies on the recruitment of individuals to keep the scam afloat. The cycle continues and you’re left with buying and shipping gifts for unknown individuals, in hopes that the favor is reciprocated by receiving the promised number of gifts in return. Next, it’s your turn to send an email or social media invitation to send a modest gift to a stranger along with their friends, family and contacts. All you must do is provide your name and address and personal information of a few additional friends, and tack this information on to a list that’s already started of people you’ve never met on the Internet. The scheme starts with a convincing invitation, either by email or social media to sign up for what seems like a great, fun program. Users were encouraged to invite others to participate in the holiday gift exchange, then promised they would receive information on where to mail the gifts. These gift exchanges, while they look like innocent fun, are really pyramid schemes – and are considered illegal.The “Secret Sister” gift exchange campaign quickly became popular in 2015 through Facebook posts promising participants would receive up to 36 gifts, in exchange for sending one gift, valued at $10.
A “Secret Sister” gift exchange among online friends you haven’t met, well, that’s a little different and carries a heftier consequence. – A “Secret Santa” around the office, friends and family can be fun. "I sure didn't know it was illegal.Milwaukee, Wis. "I had a lot of fun with this last year," Tiffany Maynard said. "I wish I knew this last year," Chrystal Phillips said. The department's Facebook posting drew a wide-range of responses. "This scam circulated Facebook heavily last year and is making the rounds again this holiday season." "Don’t fall for the post popping up on your news feed about a secret sister gift exchange – it’s a scam and illegal," the post said. This is because paying $10 in a gift exchange for an unknown number of gifts is considered gambling, and gambling using the mail is illegal.Īlso, the police force warns that many of those who participate never get the gifts that they are promised. The police force cites a federal statute that says, "Any letter, package, postal card, or circular concerning any lottery, gift enterprise, or similar scheme offering prizes dependent in whole or in part upon lot or chance" could lead to a conviction of up to two years in federal prison. The Cookeville, Tennessee Police Department published a Facebook post on Wednesday encouraging people not to participate in online gift exchanges such as the "Secret Sister" exchange. Have you participated in an online gift exchange? Not only is a police department in Tennessee warning that such exchanges are a scam, it could also be a violation of federal law.
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