Another Day, Another MLM Trap

A woman I've never really met just tried to recruit me into what looks like a classic multilevel marketing scheme disguised as a birthday greeting.

She sent a gushy happy birthday message on social media—the kind that immediately triggered my radar. We've crossed paths maybe twice. I didn't respond. Instead, I went straight to her profile.

What I found was textbook MLM playbook. Cryptic posts everywhere. Vague references to an "opportunity." The same recycled buzzwords you see in every pyramid scheme pitch. Diamond emojis. Something called "The 20 KAY Club." No actual details about what the company does or what she sells.

When I looked closer, the pattern became obvious. She won't name the company in comments. She won't explain the "opportunity" in DMs. She keeps saying people "focus on the wrong parts" and that "you can't plan your future in a DM." Translation: She knows people will research the company, find the lawsuits, read the income disclosures showing 99% of participants lose money, and run.

She needs you face to face. In person. Where she can work the charm, use the scripts, answer questions with more vague promises instead of facts.

This is how it works. The recruiter avoids naming the company because the moment you Google it, you'll find what actually matters—the real numbers. Most participants make nothing. Some lose thousands. The people at the top make money by recruiting, not by selling products anyone actually wants.

She knows all this. She's already bought in. And she's willing to pursue people through social media, manufacture false familiarity through birthday messages, and dodge every straightforward question to pull others in.

It's 2026 and this garbage is still operating. The schemes change names, rebrand, shuffle leadership, move platforms. But the mechanics never change. The secrecy. The pressure to meet in person. The refusal to provide basic information about what you're actually joining.

These aren't opportunities. They're designed to exploit people's hopes and their trust in acquaintances. The people falling for it aren't stupid—they're targeted by someone they know, someone who's already been trained to manipulate them.

The fact that people still fall for this, that people like her are still pushing it, that companies still operate these systems in 2026, should infuriate anyone paying attention.