Natalie Nyathi
Many people do not understand that wealth comes through hard sweat.
The dawn of technology has made many young people very lazy, gullible, and easy targets for scammers.
Many citizens young and old believe in easy money.
Some believe and follow miracles promised by prophets. Some followers are so gullible to the extent of giving up their salaries or homes in the belief of “reaping more” as promised by Papa.
Of late pyramid scammers have taken the world by storm. And many have fallen victim.
A few weeks Zimbabwe was in a frenzy as a Ponzi scheme in the name of E-Creator coerced people to invest.
As usual many fell for the scam.
In an unexpected turn of events, the creator of the Ponzi scheme, a Chinese National, Zhao Jiaotong, a well-known e-commerce platform in Zimbabwe has disappeared with millions of investors’ United States dollars.
The E-commerce platform released a statement announcing the shutdown of the portal because Zhao Jiaotong was involved in fraudulent operations.
It has been established that Jiaotong had been using Ecocash representatives in Harare to withdraw money from E-Creator. The money would then be transferred to his personal Ecocash account, or he would try other strategies to trick E-Creator staff into giving him money. According to reports, he caused losses of more than US$ 1 million.
As soon as E-Creator learned that Jiaotong intended to flee Zimbabwe, there was an appeal to the public for help in finding him.
The statement cautioned people to exercise caution at airports and border routes. Anyone with information that could help restore the lost monies was eligible for a reward.
Many Zimbabweans were heartbroken by the shutdown of E-Creator since they trusted the platform and invested their hard-earned cash into it. Despite significant withdrawal delays, the firm assured customers that their money was secure. They are now in tears since it appears that their faith was misplaced.
Bulawayo-based economic analyst Morris Mpala advised citizens that if something is too good to be true then one should just ignore it.
“These are just Ponzi schemes/ Pyramid schemes and there is no underlying asset or business that will generate such returns. It’s not a sustainable business model as it uses recruitment of new members to sustain payouts”
He added;
“It will eventually crash and some people will lose out. The early bird will make a lot of money because they will be paid by new members who join and experience gnashing of teeth.
In general, if something is too good to be true just ignore it. These are not the best investment avenues to use”, said Mpala.
E-Creator proudly displayed its certificate of incorporation on its website and was incorporated as a limited liability business in Zimbabwe. The firm possessed all the legal paperwork required for operation in Zimbabwe when it was registered on February 7th, 2023, including a Certificate of Incorporation and Tax Clearance. Despite this, several people disputed the validity of E-Creator’s business strategy.
As part of its business strategy, the organization collaborated with vendors on e-commerce sites like Lazada and Zalando to boost their product sales through reviews and discounts. The business received promotion fees from the retailers, and the workers who completed tasks were given a commission. E-Creator’s business concept and the high daily interest rate of 4% drew a lot of investors and clients.
Another economic analyst Reginald Shoko said;
“It’s unfortunate people continue to fall for these pyramid schemes, it’s this new culture of shortcut to riches that’s driving people. But the faster people appreciate that there is no shortcut to getting rich and wealth the less they will become victims of these quick rich schemes”, he said.
Zim GBC News© 2023