MLM/Pyramid Scheme Scam

MLM / Pyramid Scheme Awareness Guide

How These Schemes Work

Multi-level marketing (MLM) and pyramid-type schemes often appear as business opportunities, but the key difference is where the money comes from.
In a legitimate business, revenue is generated from product sales to real customers.
In a pyramid structure, most income comes from recruiting new participants who pay entry or subscription fees, buy mandatory “starter kits,” or make recurring purchases to stay “active.”
This creates a system where earnings rely on constant recruitment, not genuine retail demand — making the model mathematically unsustainable and, in many cases, illegal.

Key Warning Signs

🚩 A. Money flows upward, not outward
Real customers make up a tiny share of total revenue. Participants buy monthly “qualifying” packages to stay eligible for commissions.

🚩 B. Recruitment is the real product
Training focuses on recruiting new sellers, not on selling to customers.

🚩 C. Unrealistic earnings
Promises of “financial freedom” or “limitless potential” replace transparent income data. In most MLMs, over 90 % of participants lose money.

🚩 D. Required purchases
You must buy starter kits, training, or monthly stock. Failure to do so cuts off commissions, making you a paying customer feeding the pyramid.

🚩 E. Pressure & cult-like atmosphere
Constant motivational slogans (“never quit,” “believe in yourself”) replace facts. Questioning the model is discouraged, and success stories rely on showmanship, not retail results.

🚩 F. No retail data
When asked what percentage of total sales go to non-participants, they can’t answer — or refuse to show audited figures.

Legal Context (EU & Greece)

Unusual Style fully complies with European and Greek consumer-protection law:

  • 🇪🇺 Directive 2005/29/EC on Unfair Commercial Practices explicitly prohibits “pyramid promotional schemes where a consumer gives consideration for the opportunity to receive compensation that is derived primarily from the introduction of other consumers.”

  • 🇬🇷 Law 2251/1994 (Consumer Protection) and Law 146/1914 (Unfair Competition) make pyramid selling explicitly illegal in Greece.

  • Oversight and enforcement are handled by the Hellenic Competition Commission (Επιτροπή Ανταγωνισμού – ΕΑ), which can impose fines or dissolve non-compliant entities.

In simple terms:

If compensation comes mainly from recruitment — not from real customer sales — the activity is a pyramid scheme, not a business.

Why We Refuse Such Models

Unusual Style stands firmly against all recruitment-based profit systems.
Our mission is to build through creativity, authenticity, and ethical collaboration, never exploitation.
We support artistic independence and reject any structure that manipulates people with false hope or financial coercion.

Further Reading / Report Misconduct (links)

European Commission – Consumer Protection Portal
European Consumer Centre Greece (ΕΚΠΟΙΖΩ)
Hellenic Competition Commission (ΕΑ)