Possible Ponzi/Pyramid Scheme - Was going to report to mods, but...

[MagicSmoker]

...I thought I'd post about it here first, because I usually just report plagiarism and the more egregious spammers/shitposters and wanted to get the opinion of the more seasoned members here on whether this should be filed under: "distasteful, but tolerable" or "insta-ban"?

So the thread in question: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2460570.0

And a quote from the thread for those too lazy to click on it (like I normally am, hence my accommodation here):

...
Unlike of other lending programs you can lend not only USD, but EUR, BTC, ETH and LTC in Mercury Global lending platform. You will receive up to 1.15% daily return during every 300 days in each of these cryptocurrencies. Reinvestments increases your income exponentially. Compound calculator http://compoundaily.com. Lending of eCurrency (ECR) also will be soon.
...

So, basically promising an outrageous 300% return IF you keep your "investment" locked up for 300 days. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

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[The Sceptical Chymist]

Yeah, it's an obvious Ponzi scheme, but that sort of thing isn't moderated here in case you weren't aware.  Scammers are free to scam here--they won't get banned, but they usually get tagged by DT members if any of them are looking. 

People need to exercise some common sense and avoid these schemes, but this one probably belongs in the "investor-based games" section, which is where people willingly and knowingly put money into Ponzis.  I think most of the people who participate in that section are complete morons, but to each his own.

Bottom line:  Don't bother reporting Ponzi scheme threads.  You can give them red trust if you want, but that's about it.

[MagicSmoker]

Yeah, it's an obvious Ponzi scheme, but that sort of thing isn't moderated here in case you weren't aware.  Scammers are free to scam here--they won't get banned, but they usually get tagged by DT members if any of them are looking. 

That was my interpretation, too, but this seemed so outrageous I wanted another opinion.

I think I'll provide a link to the HoweyCoins ICO and see if any of those dumbasses pick up on the [probably too subtle] hint.

[OgNasty]

I left some feedback...

[MagicSmoker]

I left some feedback...

So you did... 

My work here is done!

[tmfp]

It's one of those slowburn scams that seem to be a particular favorite in Russia, home of the HYIP.
Naturally there are referral commissions involved, making it a pyramid/ponzi hybrid.



The shill neotronix, was a Bitconnect fan and obviously felt inspired by this wordpress wonder.

Bitconnect trades on exchanges with bots using cryptocurrencies volatility since Nov 2016 and is not ponzi.

The hard faced, hard sell ladies with names ending in V do a great line in totally believably popups.



As has been pointed out, scams aren't moderated here.

[digaran]

I left some feedback...

Were you ever involved in any Ponzi scheme yourself before? if yes then your feedback means jack, if people see that you have had some shady activity regarding similar Ponzi-like schemes, they wont trust your feedback.

However I haven't seen you endorsing any project other than a few which I would like to assume that they were successful at the end and nobody lost any money just because you were endorsing the projects.
All in all, thank you for your vigilance.

[neotronix]

So, basically promising an outrageous 300% return IF you keep your "investment" locked up for 300 days

Mercury Global lending platform works like a bank - just redistributes money between participants. But unlike of bank, you can't withdraw your entire deposit immediately, only ~1% daily during 300 days, therefore crash does not occur. Mercury Global works successfully for about 5 years and has about 1 000 000 trusting participants around the world.

[neotronix]

It's one of those slowburn scams that seem to be a particular favorite in Russia, home of the HYIP.

You contradict yourself. Russia is not a home of the HYIP. Charles Ponzi (1882-1949) is an American of Italian descent. Generally, we do not touch on the topic of nationality here.

You can not say that anything is a scam before someone has been deceived. Otherwise you are lying.
Read Why Mercury Global work endlessly?

[tmfp]

It's one of those slowburn scams that seem to be a particular favorite in Russia, home of the HYIP.

Russia is not a home of the HYIP. Charles Ponzi (1882-1949) is an American of Italian descent. Generally, we do not touch on the topic of nationality here.

There were ponzis before Ponzi.
The acronym HYIP (as opposed to uncapitalized "high yield investment program) is a modern term of scam obfuscation, having different shades of meaning in different societies.
My reference to Russia was not derogatory per se, but based on my experience of analysing hundreds of these schemes.
Multi 'investment', sprawling, baroque creations such as this one are a popular template for attracting investors/players/mugs from Russia and Eastern Europe.
Other countries favor other structures: Africans have a weakness for cash gifting schemes, Americans a soft spot for miracle cures, supplements and such like, whereas South Asian schemes based on "education" are very popular.
Of course these are generalizations; there are global scam favorites like forex and arbitrage which appeal to "passive investors" everywhere.

You can not say that anything is a scam before someone has been deceived. Otherwise you are lying.
Read Why Mercury Global work endlessly?

Both of these points are nonsense.
A scam is a scam, irrespective of whether or when the victim realizes it.
Mercury Global does not and never will "work endlessly", it is a reboot of Mercury Mutual Fund which collapsed in 2016 and will collapse in due course itself.
This phase of the scam is usually heralded by signs of an exit strategy, for example when participants are encouraged by discounts or premiums to send funds outside of the normal accounting procedure, directly to the personal account of the admins.
Like this.....

The Keepers, who participate in the Leadership Summit, have made a collegial decision to hold a festive promotion for all participants of Mercury Global.

From 15 to 21 June inclusive, each participant, who transfers funds to the project management directly from the payment system Perfect Money, receives + 10% to the transferred funds.

This is getting off topic for this thread so I won't respond any more here, but have crossposted this to here
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2460570.40
where, no doubt, the charade will play out. That's play out, not pay out....

[neotronix]

Mercury Global does not and never will "work endlessly", it is a reboot of Mercury Mutual Fund which collapsed in 2016 and will collapse in due course itself.

Mercury just has suspended its activities in 2016 because bank accounts of community participants were frozen. This is not a community scam, it is a scam of banks. Now the community does not cooperate with banks. Despite this all lost funds of participants converted into the cryptocurrency. This proves once again that the banking system has outlived itself and has lost confidence

This phase of the scam is usually heralded by signs of an exit strategy, for example when participants are encouraged by discounts or premiums to send funds outside of the normal accounting procedure, directly to the personal account of the admins.

The community periodically provides discounts or premiums to its members.

[MagicSmoker]

...
This is getting off topic for this thread so I won't respond any more here, but have crossposted this to here
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2460570.40
where, no doubt, the charade will play out. That's play out, not pay out....

I can't believe the brazen request to send money directly to "The Keepers" - you totally called it.

And thanks to @marlboroza and @OgNasty for painting this scammer red.

@neotronix - I am singularly uninterested in any defense you might put forward; as far as I am concerned you are bitconnect 2.0 and I thought the original bitconnect was a Ponzi/pyramid scheme, too, before it imploded so spectacularly.

[neotronix]

I can't believe the brazen request to send money directly to "The Keepers" - you totally called it.

anyone of the community participants can become the Keeper. And yes, we trust each other, because the Keepers are the same participants as anyone else of us. The money of community is not kept by the Keepers, but in the blockchain. Keepers only authorized to click the button for payments

@neotronix - I am singularly uninterested in any defense you might put forward; as far as I am concerned you are bitconnect 2.0 and I thought the original bitconnect was a Ponzi/pyramid scheme, too, before it imploded so spectacularly.

I was just a member of Bitconnect, that started after Mercury was created in 2013 and worked for about 1 year. Unlike of Bitconnect, Mercury works for about 5 years. So, Mercury is not "bitconnect2.0" because Mercury existed before Bitconnect.