Legalisation of direct-sales operations not expected to reduce illegal rackets
Shenzhen resident Yang Xiaobo says he has discovered how to make a fortune overnight by joining a phone card pyramid-selling scheme with an initial membership fee of just 388 yuan.
His dreams of riches do not seem to be affected by the fact that such schemes are illegal on the mainland. The scheme, offered by Weiheng Business Information, promises members low-cost long-distance calls - only 10 fen a minute for domestic calls compared to China Telecom's 70 fen a minute, according to Mr Yang.
Mr Yang also said he had been told he could make more than 3,000 yuan in three to five months by signing up friends to the scheme.
'The company will pay me 100 yuan for every three members I recruit,' Mr Yang said. 'You start earning big money when the members you bring to the club start to multiply.'
He said he had been able to build up a 15,000-person pyramid network in only four months. Mr Yang said he stood to gain a maximum of 750,000 yuan, but declined to explain the details of the scheme.