Greed and deception may be hidden under a smile when independent contractors hired by Amway Global fool individuals to join the business.

Independent contractors who use pyramid schemes rely on recruitment to make a profit.

I managed to come across such a scam artist inside a Starbucks Coffee joint.

In an interview with Amway Global independent contractor Jenny Figueredo, I was advised that I would be earning an extra $500 a week without doing much, just convincing anyone I knew to log in to a website and products.

Amway representatives throw pitches at prospective recruits such as: “You can make a lot of money,” or “You don’t have to overwork yourself to make money.”

How does not working hard translate into making money?

Businesses that use a pyramid model to distribute profits usually fall under the “too good to be true” category.

According to the website crimesofpersuasion.com, a pyramid scheme is disguised as an entrepreneur’s opportunity to create a solid profitable business by selling a product or service.

Amway Global is one of largest marketing companies in the U.S. Their line of products extends from health and beauty products to electronics and just about anything else you can think of buying.

It is technically not considered an illegal pyramid scheme because Amway Global actually sells merchandise.

But, they do use the pyramid model to allocate profits.

The pyramid model involves a representative hired by Amway Global. This individual goes out to the community and targets people in an attempt to recruit them into the business.

The independent contractor gets a percentage from product sales and also for recruiting the individual.

Figueredo assured me any purchasing activity would be recorded on the website in order for me to get my profit from the products I sell.

Her main pitch – and frankly her only one – was, “You can make your own business as an independent contractor, you just need to recruit friends or individuals you know who can help you.”

What Figueredo neglected to explain was that the profits would be allocated to her as well.

As the interview progressed, Figueredo explained the products Amway Global sells online, and she also handed me magazines for me to take a quick glance at.

I took my time to browse the different magazines, and Figueredo was ready to get me started into creating and recruiting individuals to build my own business.

“Give me the names of five people you know who you can get to buy some products from your online account once it has been created,” Figueredo said.

At this point I was nervous and I decided to make up random names.

When she asked for their phone numbers, I immediately asked, “how does the system work?”

Figueredo played a video in response to my question, which she said would help explain Amway Global and the business. However, the video explained absolutely nothing.

The video mainly contained biographies of independent contractors who made millions in the business.

Not quite the answer I was looking for.

I immediately understood that she didn’t know how to respond to the question because Figueredo only saw the dollar sign stamped on my forehead.

Amway Global is just one example of the thousands of businesses that use a pyramid model to allocate profits.

Professor of Business Robert J. Gonzalez said illegal pyramid schemes work in a chain.

Gonzalez said profits are not gained because products are not technically sold and the result is a person, who is the last on the chain, losing their money.

“When recruitment comes to a stop, the money is no longer available, and the person at the very bottom of the pyramid looses because there is no one to make a profit from.” Gonzalez said.

Amway Global seems to be and identifies itself as a legitimate business to work for.

But it still uses a pyramid model to allocate its profits and the end result is someone losing it all.

These legitimate pyramid scheme artists usually hide inside a Starbucks Coffee place or Java City pretending to be professionals.

They pitch with optimistic phrases like: “Would you like to make extra money?” or “How would you like to create your own business?”

My advice: turn and give them the cold shoulder, because all they want is to make an fast buck by recruiting you.

Vanessa Guerrero can be reached at [email protected]