Everyone’s heard of pyramid schemes and knows to steer clear of them because they’re bad news and can collapse at any moment with only the people on top getting any real lasting benefit from them, yet we all have that one high school friend who is always posting on their social media about their new business and trying to get you involved and who scoffs at us whenever you mention that it looks like a pyramid scheme. You know the guy I mean.
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How are people still falling for this and how are people still such bastards that they want to exploit people in this fashion for their own game? I’m not sure myself and most people I know think that high school friend is a moron, but it’s still happening all over the planet and one of the main perpetrators is an organisation called Crowd1.
I had never heard of these guys before but the BBC just published details of a six month investigation into them and it’s crazy to me that stuff like this is still going on:
This is how it starts.
Someone sends you a message about an amazing opportunity – an easy way to make money with nothing more than your smartphone and some hustle. pic.twitter.com/TNMlZHB6Tv
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
But hang on…What exactly is Crowd1? What do these guys do?
Where is this money coming from, and where is it going?
The Swedish founder, Jonas Eric Werner, describes it as “the next generation of online networking”. pic.twitter.com/mvsX5g4ISp
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
OK. So if you want to make money with Crowd1, you start by…spending money.
The cheapest way in is the White Pack, which costs 99 Euros.
Titanium Pro, the most expensive, costs 3,999 Euros. pic.twitter.com/OlZoH8Ww4E
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
OK, so we’re going to sign up.
What have we got for our money, and how is this going to make us rich? pic.twitter.com/l1iczLEQAv
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
This package costs 2,499 Euros! Two *thousand* four hundred and ninety nine Euros! pic.twitter.com/xsfMgnFOZf
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
This “education pack” is not the only thing Crowd1 offers.
Membership, they say, gives you access to a range of exciting “digital products” that you can sell to your network.
Gambling. Gaming. Lotteries. Magazines. Travel booking engine. The promo is amazing, but… pic.twitter.com/iZcLiPR74C
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
And the cash payouts they promise members?
Crowd1 told us that we owned “Rewards” worth more than 7,000 Euros.
But when we tried to cash them out, we got…. pic.twitter.com/v9AUMQHxEx
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
So if the products are not what they claim to be, how does Crowd1 really make money?
The answer is right there in Crowd1’s webinars and events.
Most of the time, these guys are not talking about education… pic.twitter.com/BfG0Sj3f82
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
You know what’s coming here, right? pic.twitter.com/zojMQC4uZi
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
Now, we want to point out a small problem with Crowd1’s model.
It’s a classic pyramid scheme. And in many countries, pyramid schemes are totally illegal.
This is why… 🔊 pic.twitter.com/XJc6IPESmG
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
Rosinah was recruited into Crowd1 by her pastor.
She thought she was buying “shares” in a business that would pay out a “salary.”
If you’re thinking “it’s her own fault, falling for an obvious scam ” then just listen to how this felt from Rosinah’s point of view… 🔊 pic.twitter.com/deUYtiKdCU
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
Crowd1’s products may be dodgy.
But there’s one thing they’re truly brilliant at: playing on the hopes & fears of their members.
They are selling you status. Winning your trust. Tapping into your faith. Giving you a sense of belonging 🔊 pic.twitter.com/hVfF9jwRkV
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
Now there’s a basic question here that we haven’t answered.
Where has Rosinah’s money gone?
Who’s at the top of Crowd1?
Who are the scammers? pic.twitter.com/oMLOXnPMMR
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
Renze has been doing this kind of thing for years.
Here he is in 2013 running a webinar to promote a loyalty card company whose leaders were eventually convicted of fraud. pic.twitter.com/a4GFgxdOHy
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
But Renze and Smile are just footsoldiers, leading the recruitment.
At the very top of Crowd1, we find a bunch of Swedish businessmen. And some of these guys also have a history of scamming. pic.twitter.com/8MWoqbkd6M
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
But even Johan is not the big boss.
At Crowd1 events, he often appears with this guy. We met him at the beginning of this thread.
This is Jonas Eric Werner, the Founder of Crowd1. pic.twitter.com/jIgokfnZCS
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
Spinglo vanished. But Jonas moved on.
He’s reported to have been a top figure in Sitetalk OPN, a marketing scheme that was bought by OneCoin—a massive pyramid scam. Jonas denies this.
The amazing story of OneCoin told by @JamieJBartlett is here > https://t.co/jsbHJ6vtpD pic.twitter.com/8rMJTVKqpw
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
Hidden in the paperwork of Crowd1’s affiliate company, Impact Crowd Technology, we found another big fish.
Tor Anders Petterøe.
He’s been linked to scams going back almost 20 years. Back home in Norway, Petterøe has a nickname: the Pyramid King. pic.twitter.com/hhGHhscK16
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
But the BBC is not alone in noticing that this is a scam.
Governments in at least nine countries have issued warnings or banned Crowd1 outright.
In South Africa, authorities have issued a warning about Crowd1 & said they’re investigating. pic.twitter.com/e4iqJueP7K
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
At the start of this thread, we asked a question: where is all this money coming from, and where is it going?
We can now answer that.
It’s coming from people like Rosinah. pic.twitter.com/U12xr9fSlU
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
You can watch our full investigation on @bbcafrica’s YouTube channel here > https://t.co/9PScolKvVn#PyramidKings #Crowd1 #Crowd1Scam #BBCAfricaEye pic.twitter.com/jnLj9p09nY
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
Investigation produced by @ayandacharlie_, @SVanhooymissen, @yaolri & @danielsilas.
Team included @bertram_hill1, @Bahaushee, @fs0c131y, @ezCoinAccess, @TuyeimoHaidula, @djedu, @KelvinNews, @AnnaPayton2, @TankisoMamabolo & Lesoko Seabe. #BBCAfricaEye Editor @marcperky.
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) November 2, 2020
Wow. Again, how are these organisations still allowed to operate and how are the people that are involved with them still allowed to operate and continue to set up ridiculous businesses like these ones despite the fact that they’re clearly of no benefit to anyone except the founders? How are people still falling for this and enabling their behaviour and why aren’t governments and watchdogs doing more to shut them down quicker?
I suppose Crowd1 can always argue that they’re selling some information about how to be better at marketing with their stupid little packs, but anyone with a brain can see that this isn’t actually what they’re selling. It’s a great loophole and I imagine that’s why they’re still allowed to operate and get away with this shit.
Hopefully reports like this will educate some people as to their dangers, but it really does seem like people out there still want to believe these get rich quick schemes and throw all their hard earned money into the hat on them. Be smarter.
Side note – BBC coverage was a bit wacky/quirky for an issue like this, but again hopefully this engages with more people and helps them to see what’s really going on with these things.
For more of the same, check out this Instagram trader who scammed 1000 people out of £3.5 million over Christmas.
