The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has declared Obelisk a multiplier scheme after around 4,000 people joined in eight groups WhatsApp lost 112 million coins in an alleged scheme to sell bitcoin mining machines.

This came after the NCC received a consumer complaint alleging the Obelisk promoters had deceived them financially.

According to a statement published on Friday, the plaintiffs allege that friends and relatives, who persuaded them to buy a “bitcoin mining machine” in Obelisk to generate daily income, recruited use them.

These machines, according to the participants, are priced from R340 to R450,000.

“Participants are recruited from social media platforms, like Facebook, where they have to make a minimal investment. After initial participation and investment, they were added to different Obelisk WhatsApp groups.

“Some participants receive minimal returns as an incentive to invest more.”

Members, according to the NCC, allege that the problem started when they invested larger amounts and were unable to make any withdrawals.

“When they faced the operators about not being able to make withdrawals, they were blocked from the system and removed from the WhatsApp group.”

According to preliminary findings by NCC, Obelisk is a kernel system.

The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) provides that a breeding program is an arrangement whereby a person offers, promises or guarantees to any participant an effective annual interest rate. at least 20% higher than the interest rate on the date of investment.

This scheme, according to the NCC, is operated by non-South African nationals who use South African bank accounts and South African or non-South African mobile phone numbers.

“These bank accounts were opened by the South Africans who handed them over to the authors; South African mobile numbers too.

So far, the NCC says it has received 25 complaints from participants who have lost a total of Rs 750,000. Says there are about 4,000 participants from eight WhatsApp groups and participants have lost approximately R112 million

Personal programs are prohibited under CPA regulations which stipulate that a person may not directly or indirectly promote, participate join, join or participate in a multiplication scheme

“It implies that the people running Obelisk and the South Africans, who invested in Obelisk or opened bank accounts or mobile phone numbers, were engaged in illegal activities.”

The 2022 Global State of Fraud Report, published by the Global Anti-Fraud Coalition (GASA), estimates that in 2021 alone, South Africa has lost around R1 billion to scams. .

Acting NCC Commissioner Thezi Mabuza said replication and pyramid schemes have increased sharply since 2020, due to the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic, which increased unemployment levels and people are looking for jobs. How to make money fast in the shortest time possible.

“We urge everyone in the community to ease their pain and suffering by not participating in these scams.

“History is full of examples of these schemes inevitably falling apart, often leaving behind traces of hardship, fractured trust, broken friendships and even broken families.”