World-Wide This is a question that may occur to you, although you may not have a clear idea what you mean by the phrase. Therefore, this article discusses some notorious MLM abuses. There are several broad characteristics of pyramid schemes.
Scheme collapses if growth ceases.
Program of negative value until new rep achieves a lofty bonus level. Claims of specific high income. You can't earn more than your sponsor. Founders are often invisible. Often, a pyramid relies heavily or exclusively on the enrollment income, and has no on-going income from other sources.