They hold recruitment meetings where they create a frenzied, enthusiastic atmosphere in which group pressure and promises of easy money prey upon people's greed and fear of missing out on a good deal. They discourage thoughtful consideration and questioning. The meeting may leave you not knowing fully what the product or service is or how it is to be sold, for emphasis has been on the fact that all you have to do, aside from investing money, is to get others to invest. The plan focuses more on the recruiting of other participants than on selling the product or service. Unless you know that this kind of scheme is rigged against you, it's difficult to resist.
Some pyramids are simple and similar to a chain letter.
Others, though, are disguised to look like legitimate multi-level marketing to fool potential investors and evade law enforcement agencies. To imitate a legitimate company, a pyramid scheme may take on a line of products and claim to be in the business of selling them to consumers. Actually, little or no effort is made to market the products. The real money is made from recruiting. New distributors are pushed to purchase large and costly inventories when they sign up.