Get-rich-quick scheme
Scheme promising high returns for little investment or risk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A get-rich-quick scheme is an offer, plan, or purported business opportunity that promises unusually large profits or rapid wealth for little investment, effort, skill, or risk.[1][2] The term is commonly used as a broad label for deceptive or fraudulent investment, work-at-home, and other money-making offers.[3][4]
The phrase get rich quick was used in connection with dubious investments by at least the early 20th century.[5][6]
Characteristics
Consumer-protection and securities regulators warn that get-rich-quick schemes typically combine promises of high returns with little or no risk, exaggerated or unsubstantiated earnings claims, urgency, and vague or secretive explanations of how the profit is supposedly generated.[7][8][9] In the United States, sellers covered by the Federal Trade Commission's Business Opportunity Rule must provide specified disclosures, and earnings claims must be supported by written substantiation.[10][11]
Promoters often market such schemes as requiring little prior experience or specialized knowledge, and may use testimonials, luxury imagery, or claims of insider methods to create the impression that substantial profits can be earned quickly and easily.[12][13]
Common forms
Get-rich-quick schemes can take the form of investment scams, bogus business opportunities, work-at-home offers, and coaching or training systems marketed with unrealistic earnings claims.[14][15]
In the investment context, such schemes often overlap with Ponzi schemes and high-yield investment programs, which commonly promise unusually high returns with little or no risk.[16][17][18]
Business-opportunity variants frequently advertise activities such as envelope stuffing, craft assembly, vending-machine routes, or online storefront management, while downplaying costs and overstating likely earnings.[19][20]
History
Early uses of the phrase appeared in popular magazines and business writing, where get-rich-quick described speculative or dubious ventures.[21][22]
By the 21st century, the term was also being used by regulators in enforcement actions against infomercial and online business-opportunity sellers. In 2012, for example, the FTC announced a court judgment against marketers of several get-rich-quick systems that had been sold through infomercials.[23][24]
Regulation and enforcement
In the United States, business opportunities marketed with earnings claims may fall under the Federal Trade Commission's Business Opportunity Rule, which requires specified disclosures and substantiation for certain representations made to prospective purchasers.[25][26] The FTC has also warned advertisers that false or misleading money-making claims can trigger significant civil penalties.[27]
Securities regulators likewise warn that promises of guaranteed or unusually high returns, especially when paired with claims of little or no risk, are classic signs of investment fraud.[28][29]
Internet-era forms
Internet-era get-rich-quick schemes are commonly promoted through websites, email, text messages, online advertisements, and social-media platforms.[30][31] Online promotions often stress passive income, secret methods, or fast cash while minimizing the cost, skill, or time required.[32][33]
Recent FTC guidance has warned about online side hustle and task scams, in which victims are promised easy money for remote work but are instead pressured to pay fees, move money, or perform sham tasks that never produce legitimate earnings.[34][35]