MLM Bot Watch 73 A thread about desperate bots desperately botting

[MarchXX]

Saw previous thread was full, so started this one ! Thread 73, who would have thought . So much has changed over the years of these MLM threads but it is interesting that some stalwarts are still going, many thousands of victims in their wakes.

The MLM industry is counting the cost of a more awakened population who can now see through this scam industry, although there are still the serial bots who believe they fail because they 'didn't try hard enough' rather than understanding that the business model set them up to fail, and join countless MLMs in a desperate attempt to find success .

Around those times, eBay and other selling sites were absolutely flooded with FLP shite being flogged off at discount for precisely that reason- to recoup at least some of the 'investment', and to reclaim at least some storage space...
Former FLP victims who have been brave enough to leave and speak up have said that Uber was also notorious for this sort of practice...

Uber is flogging product on FB marketplace

she must have a garage full

I'm new to these threads but interested. Have read some blogs and I had a friend (had being the operative word) who tried to get me to buy into what I realised was a MLM. She wanted over £800 for me to buy in and her to be the next person up on the chain. I initially got invited to an evening of a "select few friends" to give my feedback on their new business venture.

When I got there this involved sitting in their lounge watching a half hour video all about how their travel scheme was going to be hugely successful etc and how it all works. I now believe this was all part of trying to get me to sign up, even though she said it wasn't.

Then started all the Facebook and instagram self-proclaiming posts about having her own company etc.

They flew to the USA to a "conference". I now think that they probably paid out a couple of grand to do so as the MLM won't have covered the flights etc.

It was all quietly dropped when covid hit because this was a travel based MLM. I thought it crashed and burned but it seems not. IBuumberang, or something like that.

I a, relieved that I came home from hers that night and rather than sign up and spend over £800 (because they and the video were very persuasive), that I chose to do some research instead.

How do I find the Castle woman you are all talking about? Sounds dreadful and would like to see what you're all on about!

Well done for resisting! These MLMs train the bots to exploit their friendships and to press all the buttons to persuade people to sign up. So exploitative and dishonest

The thing is, she and her husband were already experienced business people. But she flits from thing to thing. She has long term emotional issues surrounding never being good enough, and often decides to do this, that and the other to improve herself, and talks about it endlessly for weeks and weeks and gets people to help her with her latest idea - and then drops the idea.

So she had persuaded her husband, despite him already having a successful and very full time business, that this was "the next big thing" and that she wanted to do it in order for her to be happy. I still don't understand why he didn't do just an hour of research into iBumeraang and see that it was set up by a serial MLM-er and that it was just another dodgy pyramid scheme. I don't understand why he put his reputation on the line to get involved in his wife's latest batshit scheme to keep up with the Joneses. He went to the conference. Spent thousands. They're both intelligent people. I just don't understand how they got so caught up in it when they're already reasonable well off and he has some business sense. That MLM must be very persuasive. I was almost persuaded myself but put off that night by someone else there that night who was once an investigative journalist who was asking some pertinent questions about how they hoped to persuade people to spend £800 on an annual membership to buy cheaper flights from an unknown name when 99.9% of the public would just buy cheaper flights from one of the many cheaper brokers in a crowded market.

The MLMs are evil and I agree with a PP that they are low level organised crime ...I think they should be made illegal. If this MLM could lure in an experienced business couple (albeit the woman has mental health issues and huge self esteem issues), what hope it there for less experienced and more vulnerable people?

@notagainagainagainagain iBuumerang is ticking along. The lockdown was a blessing for iBuumerang because their business isn’t travel, it’s recruitment! But not such a blessing for those they recruited who believed they were entering a travel business.

The boss of that company is very shady. He started Organo Gold (dodgy coffee product) which caused a lot of problems for people and he’s been caught up in a lot of dodgy crypto ponzis. I bet your ex-friend is wishing she’d followed your lead and not signed up. Even pre lockdown, back in 2017/2018 there was plenty of information about these scams but people only look for what they want to find and dismiss the red flags ☹️

I wonder if she is still caught up in MLM?

@YouOKHun . I'm interested you say iBumerang is about recruitment, not travel. This is something I don't understand.

When I went to hers that night the presentation video was all about travel. Some sort of membership or subscription scheme that cost over £800 but got you access to cheap flights. (I was sat there thinking the flights would have to be cheaper than they were to make it worth the £800 outlay but it was all so persuasive that I was really tempted).

The video also went on about being a competitor to Uber taxis. Has that part taken off because the video and my friend was certain that it would and that we would be seeing them in London very soon. There was a picture of a taxi emblazoned with the company name (not iBumerang, something else but I can't remember what) and how they would soon be putting Uber out of business.

Given all that, I am interested to know why it's a recruitment business not a travel business? Surely once recruited the people would want to actually take advantage of the travel offers? Why don't they walk out and claim against IBumerang for fraud when they find out it isn't what they thought?

My former friend said she got annoyed with the people above her in the chain nagging her to get new travel clients when there was a lockdown. That journalist did say that night that there were huge restrictions on global travel imminent (this was about Feb or March 2020) and that it wasn't a good idea to get involved in such a scheme but my friend had already signed up. Maybe that's why she was trying to get the £800+ from her "select few" (not that select it turned out) that night ....maybe they were trying to recoup so,e of their outlay in their £800 and the conference costs.

I'm getting quite pissed off now that she tried to recruit me.

It’s a recruitment business because, like all MLMs, the only way to make any money is to recruit a downline and selling the product (travel in this case) is used to disguise the fact it is a pyramid scheme

And sadly once someone has invested in the scheme they see everyone, including friends and family, as prospects

Welcome to the thread @notagainagainagainagain

Castle shares her first name with Lady Hamilton and the title of a Jane Austen novel. Her second name is a craftsman who makes barrels. Being the modest creature she is, she describes herself online as “Global.” She claims to have started an online university for entrepreneurs. I think she’s a pisspreneur.

Pisspoorpreneur

all the money she made from FL came from women in her downline. Not an actual business

Wow, I've just watched the link Sleaze posted - an interview with the son of their bat-shit crazy nurse friend.

That poor guy (and his siblings) have had such a fucked up up-bringing.

I can't see how Wig, Sleaze or any of their conspiracy theory gang can watch that and still support her. They must be equally as crazy.

@notagainagainagainagain it does feel like it’s all about the product when you’re watching the promotional video and seeing the “successful” bots paraded before you doesn’t it? When you’re on the outside and yet to sign up the conversation still has the product woven through the it. We know that once you’ve joined an MLM the conversation quickly changes to emphasise “sharing the products with friends” and recruitment of everyone you know. Many of the big earners in MLM have never really sold the products at all. Product changes hands but mainly within the scheme and uplines are rewarded for the purchases of their downlines not for their downlines’ sales to people outside the scheme. So really the product is a way of passing money up the pyramid. The reality is very little product is sold to legitimate customers who are not part of the scheme, though it looks like it’s about product sales at first glance. Of course the numbers are not available for these real sales because that’s not of interest to MLMs, they’ve already sold to their customers!

It feels like they’re being super open and honest too, all the “I was like you once but now I am a “success”, so all you need to do is follow me and you will be a success too”. It’s so appealing and so much more appealing than the grey reality truth of MLM. The trick is to harness a person’s emotional response and their FOMO. The Uber taxi thing is their “sign up quick” cue. Assault the senses, create the urgency, don’t give time to reflect. Perhaps your ex-friend’s husband’s vulnerability is her. If she has MH problems perhaps he will go along with anything in the hope it will help her feel better. Or perhaps he saw an opportunity to use his skills to make money? Or perhaps they are both superficial people easily beguiled by the flashy surface of MLM. It’s interesting why people get pulled into MLM when they clearly have other options. If they are already comfortably off they’re very attractive to the MLM as they are likely to have resources that can be used to represent “success” and pull in more people hoping to emulate them. They may also have a network of people with similar resources.

Has your friend moved away from all MLM or is she is “this opportunity is different and will work this time” mode? She was probably under a great deal of pressure when she tried to recruit you to be a “travel client”. So damaging to friendships isn’t it?☹️

@notnotagainagainagainagain the real 'product' that they are selling is the £800 subscription, not flights or hotels or any other travel stuff. In that sense it is pretty close to a traditional pyramid scheme. The job is to recruit as many people to pay in their £800 as possible. To assist in recruitment they promise you some vague 'discounts' when booking travel, but it's all rubbish. As you mentioned, it would have to be some discount to offset the £800.

The IRONY of Castle advising on ‘consistency’

!!!!!

She is consistently inconsistent to be fair.

Castle has a serious messiah complex going on.

There will be some poor unfortunates, such as Nurse, who hang on her every word

I'd love to know the psychology of why these women fall for these types of things, why can't they branch out on their own? Why do they treat Yawn and Castle like demigods? Why do they hang on to their every word and suck up to them at every opportunity? "You look amaaazing babe" and "you look beautiful babe" do they think that they're actually friends with them? I find it fascinating and rather tragic at the same time.

Yes I think they imagine they are friends. Very sad.

Castle says hello to all the people coming on her lives. While is makes her look incredibly unprofessional, it helps scam the viewers into thinking they’re important.

a scam tip she learned somewhere.,

I see Castle's ex BFF is following the "social media engagement" script now that her twins have started school ....get a puppy

Yes it was inevitable

Failing business, failing engagement, tragically dull content, when Starbucks cups don’t cut it anymore.

Get a dog.