Members of the public are now urged to be on the lookout for unscrupulous people who may be scamming money from innocent Fijians through pyramid schemes.

The Fijian Competition and Commerce Commission (FCCC)’s warning comes after reports were received by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) based at the Reserve Bank of Fiji that more than 150 individuals had become victims of a ‘gifting’ scheme that was circulating on social media.

FCCC chief executive officer Joel Abraham said such schemes were designed to defraud Fijians of their hard-earned money in the hopes of making more money.

“It is unethical and very much illegal around the world and in Fiji,” Mr Abraham said.

He said in a pyramid scheme, an organisation enticed individuals to join and make a payment and in exchange, the new members were promised a share of the money that they received from every additional member that they recruited.

“If Fijians come across such schemes, or suspect that they are being recruited into one, we encourage them to report such incidents to FCCC – whether through the use of our FCCC app, in person, via phone call or email,” Mr Abraham said.

“There are many methods being used by unscrupulous individuals to entice innocent and vulnerable members of the public who may be looking for easy ways to make quick money in order to provide for themselves and their families.

“These unsuspecting people may start off with small amounts but then end up paying large sums of money, some of which include life savings.”