'Secret Sister Gift Exchange' on Facebook Is a Form of Pyramiding Scam
The "Secret Sister Gift Exchange" spreading on Facebook is a scam and is illegal, the United States Postal Inspection Service warned.
Facebook users may have come across some posts talking about a "Secret Sister Gift Exchange." The chain letter asks a user to invest $10 to get 36 gifts in return, but the offer is just another online scam, according to the Tech Times.
The "Secret Sister Gift Exchange" bears some similarities with the Secret Santa gift exchange. The scheme requires six people to invite six more people each to send gifts worth at least $10 to the one who invited them. Once it is done, the name in the first slot will be crossed out and the new participants in the list will be asked to do the same for the person listed above their name, Mashable details.
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The so-called holiday offer presents a security risk for the participants because it requires them to reveal their home address and other personal information to receive the gifts promised in the "Secret Sister Gift Exchange." Moreover, the scheme resembles a classic pyramid scam, which is an illegal business model that requires a person to recruit a new member who will invest an amount of money in order to receive the promised monetary return.
The United States Postal Inspection Service explained that online chains, such as the "Secret Sister Gift Exchange," are illegal and are a form of gambling. Participating in such schemes is also against the Postal Lottery Statute stipulated in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1302.
"There's at least one problem with chain letters. They're illegal if they request money or other items of value and promise a substantial return to the participants," Mashable quotes the Inspection Service's statement.
In a pyramiding scheme, people in the pyramid are bound to lose money sooner or later because the cash flow is impossible to sustain. Because of this, the public is encouraged to be wary of offers that are too good to be true, such as the "Secret Sister Gift Exchange."
