Ok, here's a sensitive issue so if you disagree, please comment.
Taken from an old lowyat.net post
[intro giving background of MLM]
These information are meant for you to know and warn your family
members and loved ones before they become victims.
"People got victimised by scams because they don't know about it and
they don't know about it because those who knew about it did not share it"
Here are some hot scams(new scams no.16 down below) in Malaysia,
briefly, (I will elaborate more if you contribute):
1) The Cafe Scams - Island Red Cafe & Stevens Corner(strange, both
in Pandan Indah) - Island Red Cafe collects members RM6,000 each and
promised 5% return every month and even give you a name in the ROC as a
shareholder but what's the point when they run away ? Stevens Corner, the
famous indian coffee shop follows due to drop of business since their
renovation. They collect RM3,000 per member and promise return of RM150
monthly and plans to open nice fanchisee cafe called StevensTeaGarden.
Someone mentioned they will make you sign an agreement that give them the
rights NOT to pay you anything in future. If you really wish to join, ask
for a copy of their agreement and consult your lawyer BEFORE paying them.
Bet you will NOT get a copy. Both collect monies from new members with MLM
recruitment schemes and pay the old members like Sunshine Empire. You never
know when they will run away.
2) Sunshine Empire - This licensed and legal Company has an
impressive office at the ground level of KUB building along Jalan Yap Kwan
Seng, near Menara Public Bank and AmBank Building. They also have a showroom
office at the ground level in the next building. 2 or 3 months ago,
Singapore's Straits Times and The Paper published big news reminding their
people to be careful and NOT to believe in them. Hope someone can put up the
link or google for it.(As expected, they STOPPED paying back members now and
all investors LOST their money).
Someone below has put a link to the Singapore news. In fact there
are more to it. Although Singapore is investigating them, they did not stop
their business as the business is legal and so far, no Singaporean have
failed to receive their commissions as promised. Thus, the government cannot
stop them yet.
The news published that the founder, director and group president is
someone named James Phang but he is NOT the owner. Isn't this quite strange
? At the end of the game, James Phang can just disappear from the Company
easily and claimed that he was just "employed". Such trick always happened
in scam businesses.
Now, the Company has STOPPED paying commissions and interests to
members with the excuse that the Singapore government has freezed their bank
account while under investigation. Do you think their boss will be so stupid
to keep much monies in the bank to be freezed ? They are all transfered
away. It's just an excuses not to pay back to members and members are only
paid "e-bonus-points" which is cashless. If they wish to convert to cash,
they have to recruit new members to pay them cash and the recruiter less out
trom the amount. So victims act like Vampires and "forced" to victimise
other victims if they wish to get their monies back. And their victims will
later transform to vampires and the scam carries on...
3) MOBILWALLET - This Company owned by 2 young men, Stanley & Rey
Gan, office in Queens Avenue Park has collect multi-millions the last 2
years. Claimed that they tied up with Telekoms, Utility Board payment like
Water & Electricity bills, even Maybank got fooled by them. Advertisement
Billboards everywhere. They STOPPED paying back their members few months ago
and the members cannot do anything because they are made to sign an
agreement unaware that they have to claims if the company stopped paying
them by CHANGING terms and policies.
4) Water businesses - Oxygenated and alkaline water products - Some
of these are bottled water and some are filters or equipment that claimed
the trick.. One of the better known Company that sold "oxygen" water is
SITO(supposed to stand for Selangor International Trading Organiszation and
claimed Selangor State Government owned some share in it). The key person
and founder is a Dato Robert Ong from Rawang but his name is no longer in
the business now. Their products are sold for RM2 to RM3 for a 350ml bottle
and now concentrating mostly in the Indian market. Their Chinese and Malays
market are long gone since a year or 2 ago. Their customers are made to
believe that their water has more oxygen and able to give miraculous effects
for the body. Water is H2O, how to put more O into it ? Anyone knows how
much oxygen do we breathe into our body everyday at FOC ? Latest news is
that this SITO Company is going to create new label to market under a new
Company since the SITO name has already gone bad. Someone informed that this
Company is owing alot of money(due to refunds) to ex-stockists but just
refuse to pay them.
(Latest news, SITO shifted to another place and their MLM business
has closed but planning to start again with a different name, beware !!)
Alkaline Products - Can anyone explain how it can work for the body
? The stomach's gastric liquid is so acidic that water of any pH that goes
through it will not make any difference.
5) Car Fuel Booster - K-Link, the famous scam MLM Company that sold
the footpatch TAKARA, later the "cock-ring" and energy-card launched the
patrol-saving pills last year. Got so hot that even grocery shops are
selling for them. Recently many of these cars that used the pills are
rushing to the workshops to clean the residual. Few months ago, another MLM
Company launched a fuel booster gadget, claimed that saves up to 20% fuel,
that is attached to the cigarette lighter. Started off well using binary
plan but businese begin to fade now and most users find it NOT effective.
6) Perfumery Products(eg. Lampe Berger & Bel Air)(more details
later). Lampe Berger ( LB ) is not so hot now in the neighbouring countries
but there are still new victims every month in Malaysia. Must thanks to
those who have contributed and kept the thread alive here in Kopitiam.
Bel-Air have closed in Malaysia. LB is almost zero in Singapore. This
perfumery product from France with over 100 years history is just bottles
and fragrance(check the factory's website) but the Company marketing them in
Asia claimed "aromatheraphy" products. Hong Kong TVB aired a program that
exposed their scam but their members claimed that HK's TVB already
apologised to them. Note that the biggest strenght in a MLM Scam is their
members will go all way out to lie in order to defend for their Company. The
reason is simple; these members fear that they will not be able to make
their money back if the Company collapsed. Knowing that the Lampe Berger
products are moving slow, they add a line of skincare products named
Estebel, also claime to have over 100 years history in France.(Hardly
anymore Chinese newcomers, they are now tapping the Malays in Malaysia)
7) Energy Products(eg. stone pendants, bracelets, mattress and
pillows). They use all sorts of gimmicks and demonstration to make you into
believing them. They will do some tricks and demo to prove that these
products really produce energy BUT is there any tricks in their demo ? So
what if there really produce energy; is it good or strong enough to help the
body ? The effect is actually PLACEBO which I will elaborate in a new thread
soon.(more details later)
8) Hi-Tech products(names like bio-tech, nano-tech that claimed
millions of dollars of research involved, eg Bio-Young and XKL few years
ago). Most of these will claimed a professor behind them(even with name and
picture of a person) or used words like "U.S.A. formula", "German
Technology" or "Nanotechnology" and no further details(more details later).
If you ask for more details like the professor or factory's address, the
answer will be "trade secrets".
9) Investment Schemes - SWISSCASH is the King of all. Swisscash is
nearly over now but there are many similar and smaller ones that are still
on.(Now, it's closed or stopped paying back members)
10) GoldQuest - This Company that claimed to be HK-based started
with some non-value gold-plated coins that are sold for over RM2,000 have
several names and changed products several times. QuestVacation, QuestNet,
etc. They have several offices in Amcorp Mall, PJ and their key person(in
fact, the owner), a Malaysian Indian was arrested last year in Indonesia for
having involved in a very big Phillipines scam. Most of their overseas
offices are closed or inactive but their Malaysia business is still hot,
with some "energy" products.(Can someone please provide a link which showed
the news that their boss was involved in a big scam in Philippines and was
arrested in last year ?)
11) Numerology & Fortune telling - A Company named Visible is using
MLM to sell fortune telling classes using your birthday based on Numerology
fortune telling. Prpspects will be told that they need to buy a certain
"number" between 1 to 9 in the form of pendants or bracelets made of
stainless steel and sold from RM600 to RM20,000. Customers, or rather
victims are mostly females from rural areas. Very hot in Penang now and a
number of spin-off Companies have started.
12) MJ-Life - This Company boost of a very big background with many
many years of history which is NOT true. Their people or associates may be
long in business but nothing to do with their MLM launched recently. Why do
I consider it a scam or bad ? New members are told to pay a sum of money(up
to RM1000) and you get NOTHING for it. You only get a membership can entitle
you to enjoy all sorts of special price and discounts when you have medical
check-ups in their centres.. They will claim all those check-ups cost more
if done elsewhere. It's not true. Only the naive and those new to medical
check-ups will fall victims to them. Most members who paid the money ended
up with nothing.
13) Seaweed Venture Scams - 1 such Company is located in Taman
Maluri, Cheras. They will ask you to invest a few thousands ringgits for
their venture of growing seaweeds in East Malaysia and you are guaranteed
returns. To gain your confidence further, they will tell you your investment
money is secured by "insurance" or "unit trusts" & "trustees". When you ask
for further documents to prove, they will give all sorts of excuses or just
ignore you because they know they cannot get you. These Seaweed scam is one
of the hottest now, warn all your friends about it before they are
victimised.
14) MXM(previously MGM) - This is a master scam among the younger
group, very successful 2 or 3 years ago but since there moved to their big
10-storey office at Phileo Damansara and changed name to MXM, their business
dropped. They collect members RM3,000 to RM4,000 with credit card monthly
easy payment and in return you get a hospital benefits insurance from
Pacific Insurance worth only a few hundred RMs together with some
you-don't-need medical check-ups from their associate Company Pathlab. Also
talk about fitness, lifestyles bullshit that is all worthless.
15) Gano Excel - This company from the north, a copycat of DXN
selling Lingzhi capsules created a new Company called Gano iTouch to cash-in
on the internet like e-Cosway after their Company went down the drain since
the last 2 years, selling Linzhi and some no-value energy pendants and
alkaline water gadgets. They provide free transport every weekend from KL to
visit their Alor Star office.
16) NuLife(HK) - This Company started by some HK people has been in
Malaysia for more than 10 years but they have flopped in HK and Malaysia due
to bad management and a product scam making use of a prosecuted American
named Dr Jeffrey Bland, found guilty of false products claim. Since this
case in the US leaked out and many Malaysians found out that the real boss
in HK is a Steven Tang(he cheated many Malaysians in another scheme about 20
years ago) their business went down all the way. Now they claim Malaysian
partners cheated them and start a new Company in Malaysia. Watch out, this
new Company will come out with some investment scheme idea that will get
many to lose their money.
17) Arowana Fish Breeding, Oora from Germany, Biofuel(Kompleks
Maluri) etc - These are some newer scams. Arowana fish venture ask you to
invest some money and give you fixed return. Biofuel will tell you their
Indonesia connections(just like Sunshine Empire before using Taiwan) & Oora
from Germany(I never trust those cruel Germans) that market some bio-chips
and a gadget that claims to give energy and therapeutic effects of
accupunture, tai-chi, yoga, etc depending how you set the toy-like gadget,
wear it on your body and you get the effect later. They could not explain or
provide any demonstration to prove their effectiveness. Only doctors and
papers claim that I will never trust. The health effect is actually PLACEBO,
which I will elaborate in a different thread.
