Warning: 'Scheme pyramid scheme' may be exploiting compensation money intended for fishermen in Central Vietnam.

(Baonghean.vn) - Nguyen Thanh Hai, Head of the People's Petition Committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee, expressed concern that in the near future, people in the four central provinces who recently received compensation for environmental damage may become targets for multi-level marketing companies.

Speaking at a parliamentary session this morning (November 3), Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hai stated that behind the distorted forms of multi-level marketing are extremely worrying social phenomena such as fraud, deception of trust, leading to murder, disputes, and lawsuits...

The representative from Hoa Binh province assessed that multi-level marketing has become like a "storm," creating a "nightmare" in many rural areas and poor, once quiet and peaceful residential areas, causing hardship for many people. Multi-level marketing has destroyed the tranquility of many peaceful, simple villages, eroded people's trust in each other, and affected social morality.

Nguyen Thanh Hai, Head of the Committee on Citizen Petitions of the National Assembly Standing Committee, speaks with reporters.

Ms. Hai observed that the target groups for multi-level marketing companies to develop their networks are often housewives, laborers, retirees, etc. In particular, people who are eligible for compensation and support from the State or businesses to stabilize their jobs and lives after land acquisition are precisely the targets that multi-level marketing companies aim to exploit to expand their networks and commit fraud.

Citing the example of Truong Giang multi-level marketing company, which imports Truong Giang Calcium Kid (calcium supplement for children) at a cost of only 12,000 VND but sells it to participants for 990,000 VND, the representative commented: "There's a saying 'one investment, four times the profit' used to describe super-profitable business models, yet here the difference between the import price and the selling price is 82.5 times."

According to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, there are currently up to 1 million people participating in multi-level marketing in Vietnam, meaning that on average, one in every 90 people is involved in multi-level marketing. Explaining this figure, a representative stated that many people, once they join multi-level marketing, even after realizing they've been scammed, are driven by a desperate desire to recoup their investment. They resort to any means necessary to sell products to anyone, regardless of whether they are friends, neighbors, colleagues, or even relatives.

"This is why the number of people participating in multi-level marketing is increasing, and in every case, the multi-level marketing business owner profits, even though the commission they give to their salespeople is very high," Ms. Hai said.

In her speech, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hai also warned that, due to the phenomenon of multi-level marketing companies always targeting areas where people have just received compensation to expand their networks, it is very likely that in the near future, people in the four central provinces who have just received compensation for environmental damage will be the target areas for these multi-level marketing companies. Therefore, the Government needs to pay special attention and resolve this issue soon.

Duong Gim