Put $85 into that Amouranth community MLM thing last spring

I know I should have known better but I got pulled into one of those online groups that claimed to be a "women's empowerment circle" run by a Twitch streamer's side account. It was basically just a pyramid scheme where you paid $85 a month for "exclusive mentorship" that turned out to be a once-a-week group call with canned advice about building your brand. After three months I was $255 lighter and realized the only people making money were the top tier recruiters. Has anyone else lost cash to these influencer-run communities that feel more like a cult than a business?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordan_henderson1311d ago

Man that's rough but honestly you probably got off easy compared to some people. My buddy threw $500 into one of those "crypto queen" influencer groups and all he got was a bunch of screenshots of her Lamborghini and a link to buy her merch. At least you got a weekly call with some canned advice, I paid $200 for a "mastermind group" that turned out to be a Discord server where the main activity was watching the host do her grocery hauls. Lesson learned though, if someone promises to teach you how to make money by paying them money first, you're probably the product, not the student.

scott.olivia11d ago

I gotta push back on that last part a little. I get the instinct, but saying "if someone promises to teach you how to make money by paying them first, you're probably the product" is too broad. College is literally paying someone to teach you how to make money, and nobody calls that a scam. Same with trade school licenses or even a good business coach. The issue isn't the upfront payment, it's what you get for it. A grocery haul stream is obviously trash, but a well-structured paid group can actually deliver real value if the person running it knows their stuff. Your buddy paying for crypto hype is a different animal from someone paying for a proven system with real results. I've paid for a few courses that more than paid off, so I think the blanket rule misses the mark. It's more about vetting the teacher and the actual content than the fact they're charging.

charles83611d ago

Man these "gurus" really are something else. Grocery haul streams as a mastermind group, that might be the most honest scam I've heard yet at least she's showing you where she spends your money in real time. 😂 My favorite part of these things is when they hit you with "the real value is the community" like yeah, the community of other suckers who also got played. What kind of grocery haul tips did you pick up before you dipped?