Facebook Secret Sister gift exchange scam: Online chain letter pyramid scheme | Examiner.com

The Facebook Secret Sister gift exchange may look like a fun Christmas activity. But it's a scam that preys on the vulnerable, lonely and gullible, reported the Sydney Morning Herald on Nov. 11. Facebook users are urged to beware of this social media pyramid scheme. The Secret Sister gift exchange works kind of like a chain letter. Requests come from Facebook friends and family to join them for a "secret sister gift exchange." As in a chain letter, you are told to send the letter six friends. You mail a gift to the first "sister" on the list. add your name to the end. Your friends do likewise and you all wait for your gifts to arrive. Only the gifts never come because this is an MLM (multi-level marketing) pyramid scheme. In most cases, only one person collects presents. And the Secret Sister gift exchange scam is illegal for the same reason a chain letter or pyramid scheme is illegal: they are fraudulent.Facebook Secret Sister gift exchange scam: Online chain letter pyramid scheme | Examiner.com