This is the translation of this article, written on 9th november 2022 by Paolo
Following reports from some of our readers, we will talk about CMG Media Capital Group, yet another Ponzi scheme disguised as a seemingly legitimate app.
What is CMG?
CMG Media Capital Group is a company founded in Beijing in 2009 that acts as an intermediary between major marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, and buyers. Or at least that’s how many of the promoters presented it. And yes, it’s not a very clear explanation.
Essentially, the e-commerce giants received assistance from this platform in fulfilling orders, with the specific details not well specified. As a result of this assistance, the company would retain approximately 10% of the order value—according to some versions—and a percentage to be allocated to collaborators.
How CMG worked?
After registering through the referral link on the company’s website, it was necessary to download the corresponding app. Once in the app, after depositing at least 100 USDT, individuals would become “employees” with VIP rank 1 at CMG. From that moment on, a specific task had to be performed in order to be rewarded. Within the app, it was possible to see the number of pending orders to be fulfilled, and by simply clicking the confirmation button, the order would be processed, and the employee would earn 4 USDT.
Essentially, the process was extremely easy, requiring no verification but simply a click on a button.
To advance in rank and consequently fulfill a higher number of orders per day, additional payments were required: 300 USDT for VIP2, 1000 USDT for VIP3, and so on.
In recent days, some promoters were even discussing the possibility of opening offices throughout Italy.
If someone wanted to apply and open their own office in an Italian city, they would have to pay a deposit of $50,000. If they were rejected during the selection process, the entire deposit would be refunded.
The structure
Like many platforms we have already discussed, in addition to the task just described, there was the possibility to build a network in order to increase earnings.
In other words, the more people you got to register on the platform, the greater the bonuses you would have had access to.
Unlike many similar platforms, this one was primarily promoted offline. In fact, there is hardly anything online about the networks created and the promoters. However, there is ample evidence of individuals showcasing the platform at various physically attended events in numerous restaurants.
The fact that discussions about this platform were predominantly offline does not imply that the number of people involved was small. On the contrary, the current public Telegram channel alone has nearly 80,000 users.
While in many Ponzi schemes it would be relatively easy to trace the culprits of the fraud by following the pyramid structure from the base to the top, this case is different.
It appears that many individuals who fell victim to this scam were not directly contacted by anyone; instead, they themselves applied for this job.
In fact, some stumbled upon job advertisements on LinkedIn or Subito, while others received these offers through regular SMS messages. The content of the offers was the same for everyone: a well-paid and straightforward part-time job.
Currently, there seems to be no trace of these advertisements on the main job search portals.
Signs of the scam
There were many clues that could have hinted at it being a scam.
Firstly, the company is virtually nonexistent online, despite claiming collaborations with e-commerce giants and significant revenues.
From the UK Companies Register, it is evident that the said company commenced its operations in July of this year, not in 2009. Furthermore, in the official documents, the owner is listed as a certain Mr. Par Andreas Tingstrom, who is Swedish.
Secondly, it is genuinely challenging to comprehend how one could earn a fixed sum for order fulfillment, regardless of the order’s value. Equally puzzling is the task of simply pressing a single button to fulfill an order.
As mentioned, CMG boasted partnerships with online commerce giants, specifically Alibaba, Amazon, eBay, and Walmart. These claims were accompanied by the presentation of some collaboration certificates.
However, these certificates are evidently fake. In fact, they are graphics that can be easily downloaded from the internet and then modified.
The platform is still in function
At the time of writing this article, the platform is still accessible and usable. However, many users have reported a withdrawal freeze. Following the announcement of a significant agreement with Amazon, many users found themselves with numerous orders that they were “required to fulfill.” But once confirmation is given, they are asked to send additional money to ship the order and subsequently make a withdrawal.
We strongly advise all individuals involved not to send any more money to these individuals. It is highly likely that after an initial deposit, they will ask for another, and then another, and so on. This pattern has already been reported to us.
Furthermore, we have received several reports of individuals being threatened when requesting a refund of their invested funds.
If you have any information that you deem important, please do not hesitate to contact us at the following email address: [email protected]
We have also opened a Telegram channel for individuals involved.
