The concept is harmless enough: Facebook users recruit "sisters" with the promise that they could receive up to 36 gifts – as long as they buy a $ 10 gift to a stranger on the Internet, provide their name, address and email, and Recruit some more friends to join, said the BBB.
![Americans lost $ 1<div class="e3lan e3lan-in-post1"><script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
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</script></div>43 million in online romance scams last year. That way, Americans lost $ 143 million in online romance scams last year. In this way, it is more than anything else reported fraud](https://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/130220121743-online-dating-scam-story-top.jpg)
But users often do not know who they are buying gifts for or whether the internet strangers will benefit. . And they don't know what these strangers want to do with their personal information, which could open them to breaches of network security, BBB said.
Like any pyramid game, this thrives on continuing to recruit – the larger the pool of participants, the longer it will continue to run. But when the users stop joining, the gifts stop flowing and all the gift cards waiting for their gifts are disappointed.
How to Avoid a Scheme
Don't trust strangers on the internet with your personal information, BBB advises. If it is necessary to provide email and addresses to participate in a gift exchange, continue browsing.
Some schemes claim that they are supported by the government. They are not, says the BBB, because they are illegal. And more than likely, they will not do anything about their promise because all pyramid schemes eventually run out of participants and fail.
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