The Dangers of Investing in a Pyramid Scheme.

By CBSI Media 

Article No. : 20/2020

Solomon Islands is a major target for scammers and fraudsters who are actively spreading their networks through out the Pacific Region. Although statistics cannot really indicate the extent of how much these unlawful activities are taking place in our country, numerous reports through local media over the years have highlighted many cases of such scams and quick -money schemes operating freely as far into our provincial islands, local communities, all the way into our rural villages.
One of the recent biggest and notorious scams was the so called “One Link” scheme, the other recorded in the history of Solomon Islands is the high-profile case of the FAMILY CHARITY FUND. Millions of dollars were reported to have gone through this single scam alone with thousands of people losing their hard-earned cash and savings.
It was so big that the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) had to seek legal advice against the perpetrators and instigators of this fund, back in the early 2000, similar to how One Link was handled this year 2020.
Despite of numerous public awareness campaigns, education and advice given about the dangers of investing in these get rich quick money schemes, people still tend to get caught up in them.
Many people have become victims, when they lost all their money to these scams.
Today with the rise of digital technology, a lot has changed compared to 10 years ago. For instance, telecommunication has advanced greatly and people can now do anything with their mobile phones.
Access to internet has now become very easy in most urban and most rural places due to the expansion of telecommunication network towers. The likelihood of different kinds of scams introduced to our people is quite high.
The digital age as many would call it brings with it many dangers and one of the most frequent scams that can be found over the internet is the scam commonly known as the “Lottery Scam”
What is a lottery scam?
Lottery scams are on the rise and scammers worldwide will use telephones, faxes email, and cell phone (mobile) text messages as means to connect with their victims. The process usually begins with a notification, phone call, or mailing explaining you have won a prize or a large sum of money in lottery. These scammers are very persuasive and will go to great lengths to convince people to spend their money.
CBSI strongly urge the public to learn how to avoid any form of scams that come through these communication devices.

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For more information, please contact: Central Bank of Solomon Islands | P.O. BOX 634 | Honiara | Ph.: (677) 21791 | Email: info@cbsi.com.sb | Website: www.cbsi.com.sb