2020s Socials ???? 1990s Scams
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An (irrationally) exuberant market and unchecked creators bring back a ‘90s style Ponzi scheme. Also in today’s edition: notes on PVR-INOX’s third quarter.
Back in the 1990s, a new kind of scam was doing the rounds: plantation schemes.?
The plantation scheme was a straightforward Ponzi or pyramid scam: gather money from investors offering them part ownership in a plantation/farm for an assured return. Take money from new investors to pay older ones. Rinse and repeat. Ads for these schemes were splashed in newspapers and on TV screens, and scheme (scam) agents made door-to-door rounds in small towns and villages to gather potential investors.?
Eventually, plantation schemes faded away after Sebi began taking them on, though they did crop up from time to time (such as this one from 2009).?
That should have been the end of it. So why are we discussing this now, over 25 years later? Blame social media.
How did an alleged copy of a '90s style scam use YouTube to make hundreds of crores of rupees? Head over to the link below and read the full edition of The Impression - your weekly media primer. Bonus: a note on PVR-Inox's Q3 results.