Remembering the time I almost got scammed into MLM pyramid scheme Part 2
https://similarworlds.com/experiences/5640409-Remembering-the-time-I-almost-got-scammed-into-MLM-pyramid
Continuation from Part 1
After a month, my friend told me she would pick me up from home to talk about the business. She said it took some time to “convince” her boss that I was the right person for this business.
Made me feel special 😆.
She came to my house in her brand new BMW. I was happy for her, but the car didn’t really have that new car smell. I didn’t think much about it. I did notice that she was driving rather nervously. I thought, okay, maybe she’s still getting used to the car.
Then, she got a call from a business partner. My friend answered the phone in loudspeaker so I can hear them speak. A young woman called to inform her that she couldn’t make it to the business because she had exams and needed to focus. (This is the reference to me as a postgraduate student at that time.) My friend said, “It’s okay, dear, no worries… we’ll cover for you. Good luck with your exams!”
Then she turned to me and said, “See, this is the best thing about this business. She’s also a student like you. Whenever she can’t make it because of exams or assignments, we have others to help out. We’re like one big family.”
Great! This is really cool, I thought.
Then we reached a high-society, expatriate area where she brought me to a cafe. While walking to the cafe, she started greeting random people on the streets. “Hey! How are you? How have you been?”
Then a few random strangers greeted her too “How was your trip to Korea?” And she was bragging her way to them. It was like some red carpet Grammy Awards night. Young men driving luxury cars would greet her from the roadside, and she seemed to know everyone. 😂
And my friend said, “This is how the business is… we’re a close community.” I was SO excited.
I wanted to be her! I wanted a luxury car. I wanted to go on trips. I wanted expensive phones, watches, bags and everything else just like her! I wanted to know men in luxury cars too! 😶 And all this happened before we even reached the cafe.
We finally sat down at the cafe. Then suddenly, one lady walked in and started sharing her story with me. She told me how her dad used to be a CEO at a top company but was now driving a cab. How he used to have a driver, and now he was driving for his own former staff.
Then another girl came along, telling me about how she was a student and how this business had changed her life and made her successful. So basically, listening to these girls’ stories made everything feel so relatable. If they can do it, I can do it too! Right?
My friend paid for my drink and hers … this time, not with a credit card like during our first meeting, but with cash. Funny… what happened to the credit card?
After that, my friend brought me to another cafe where the whole crowd was involved in this business. Everyone was so excited to see her. She was like Pitbull of Kuala Lumpur that night.
And the same s**t repeated. They were talking to my friend casually.. asking questions. But each question has a braggy answer. After that whole charade, she sent me back home.
During the car ride, I told her, “You know what’s funny? These two girls’ stories are just like mine. You know, the one whose dad was a CEO? That reminds me of my dad who got retrenched. And the other girl is like me… doing an MBA.” My friend just silently said, “Yeah…” Like I had caught her.
But still, naive me was trying to see the good side of everything. I was eager to change my life and my family’s situation.
Before dropping me home, she told me that she still needed to convince her boss about me. Now that her partners had met me and spoken to me, she was positive that her partners would give her boss a glowing recommendation about me. I was ever ready to convince her boss myself that I need this “business”😂
Oh dear. The amount of deception some people are willing to use just to make money is really something.
And honestly, looking back, what makes me sad is that my friend misused my life stories…my family situation, my MBA, my desire to improve my life and they built the entire story around those things.
I will share more of their gimmicks in Part 3.
Continuation from Part 1
After a month, my friend told me she would pick me up from home to talk about the business. She said it took some time to “convince” her boss that I was the right person for this business.
Made me feel special 😆.
She came to my house in her brand new BMW. I was happy for her, but the car didn’t really have that new car smell. I didn’t think much about it. I did notice that she was driving rather nervously. I thought, okay, maybe she’s still getting used to the car.
Then, she got a call from a business partner. My friend answered the phone in loudspeaker so I can hear them speak. A young woman called to inform her that she couldn’t make it to the business because she had exams and needed to focus. (This is the reference to me as a postgraduate student at that time.) My friend said, “It’s okay, dear, no worries… we’ll cover for you. Good luck with your exams!”
Then she turned to me and said, “See, this is the best thing about this business. She’s also a student like you. Whenever she can’t make it because of exams or assignments, we have others to help out. We’re like one big family.”
Great! This is really cool, I thought.
Then we reached a high-society, expatriate area where she brought me to a cafe. While walking to the cafe, she started greeting random people on the streets. “Hey! How are you? How have you been?”
Then a few random strangers greeted her too “How was your trip to Korea?” And she was bragging her way to them. It was like some red carpet Grammy Awards night. Young men driving luxury cars would greet her from the roadside, and she seemed to know everyone. 😂
And my friend said, “This is how the business is… we’re a close community.” I was SO excited.
I wanted to be her! I wanted a luxury car. I wanted to go on trips. I wanted expensive phones, watches, bags and everything else just like her! I wanted to know men in luxury cars too! 😶 And all this happened before we even reached the cafe.
We finally sat down at the cafe. Then suddenly, one lady walked in and started sharing her story with me. She told me how her dad used to be a CEO at a top company but was now driving a cab. How he used to have a driver, and now he was driving for his own former staff.
Then another girl came along, telling me about how she was a student and how this business had changed her life and made her successful. So basically, listening to these girls’ stories made everything feel so relatable. If they can do it, I can do it too! Right?
My friend paid for my drink and hers … this time, not with a credit card like during our first meeting, but with cash. Funny… what happened to the credit card?
After that, my friend brought me to another cafe where the whole crowd was involved in this business. Everyone was so excited to see her. She was like Pitbull of Kuala Lumpur that night.
And the same s**t repeated. They were talking to my friend casually.. asking questions. But each question has a braggy answer. After that whole charade, she sent me back home.
During the car ride, I told her, “You know what’s funny? These two girls’ stories are just like mine. You know, the one whose dad was a CEO? That reminds me of my dad who got retrenched. And the other girl is like me… doing an MBA.” My friend just silently said, “Yeah…” Like I had caught her.
But still, naive me was trying to see the good side of everything. I was eager to change my life and my family’s situation.
Before dropping me home, she told me that she still needed to convince her boss about me. Now that her partners had met me and spoken to me, she was positive that her partners would give her boss a glowing recommendation about me. I was ever ready to convince her boss myself that I need this “business”😂
Oh dear. The amount of deception some people are willing to use just to make money is really something.
And honestly, looking back, what makes me sad is that my friend misused my life stories…my family situation, my MBA, my desire to improve my life and they built the entire story around those things.
I will share more of their gimmicks in Part 3.
36-40, F
