Who Is Targeted? Financial Pyramid Schemes and the Poor

In Kenya, where the qualitative research provided input to a policy diagnostic on financial consumer protection issues and approaches, at least one person in each of 14 groups was personally affected by a pyramid investment scheme.

Financial Crime: Risks For New Formal Finance Customers

There are a range of financial crimes that may occur in the financial inclusion space. This post highlights the most relevant risk elements from a financial inclusion perspective.

Pyramids and Ponzis: Financial Scams in Developing Countries

There are many different flavors of financial crime. Often, highly visible ponzi or pyramid schemes occur in developed countries. But emerging economies are not immune to these problems.

Scammed: Pyramids and the Financial Inclusion Agenda

Large-scale financial crimes such as pyramid and ponzi schemes that promise high returns on dubious investments are always big news. Clearly they can lead to devastating losses for consumers, the great majority of whom typically lose all the money they invest. This in turn can threaten gains in financial inclusion by eroding potential new consumers’ confidence in the formal financial system.