A number of young people who invested in online platforms and network marketing companies say they have lost part or all of their capital without receiving the income and profits they were promised. They add that a lack of awareness and trust in promises of earning money in a short time made them easy targets for these networks.
Navid (pseudonym), a resident of Kabul, says he joined networking and team-building activities at the insistence of one of his colleagues. After he paid 500 dollars, however, the colleague cut off contact with him and stopped answering his calls and messages.
The Kabul resident says: “A few months ago, one of my colleagues asked me to join their team. He said the work was part-time, paid well, and that I could advance in a short time. They held several sessions for me and asked me to start with 300 or 500 dollars. In the end, I paid them 500 dollars a, nd they opened an account for me. But after one month, everything came to a halt, and they stopped answering my calls and messages.”
Zainab (pseudonym), a resident of Panjshir, says she fell for the promises of a networking activist and ultimately lost her only capital. She says: “One of my friends was doing online work. Because I was unemployed, she asked me to join them and work. She said this work would both bring a good income and increase my knowledge and awareness. She talked about progress and earning in dollars.” The young woman adds: “My friend said the more money I started with, the more my income would be, and that I could earn a good income by using only a phone and spending two hours a day. I started with 300 dollars, but not only did I earn no income, but I also lost all of my capital.”
Ahmad (pseudonym), a resident of Badakhshan, says that after nearly two years of working with a network marketing company, he abandoned the work because he failed to sell products and form a working team.
The Badakhshan resident adds: “I got into networking and online buying and selling of products at the encouragement of one of my peers. Before I started, they held online seminars for me. But the products were expensive, and I could not build a network or succeed in sales. As a result, not only did I make no profit, I also suffered losses.”
Ayesha (pseudonym), one of the young people who suffered losses from working in team-building and product sales networks, says that teenagers and young people are easily drawn into these networks because of a lack of awareness and trust in promises of earning money.
This young woman says: “In companies such as Ledora and Biz, they initially try to persuade people to cooperate through extensive advertising and promises of high income. Once a person is influenced by this advertising, they take his or her national ID card and register the person’s information on the relevant website. After registration, they open an account in the person’s name and ask them to purchase the company’s products. As a result, young people end up with a large quantity of products, including shampoo, soap, and other goods, but they do not know how to sell them. When a person faces difficulty selling the products, the leader or team manager once again persuades them to continue with promises and encouragement, and asks them to go to different places to sell the products.
According to her, some of these products have no specific expiry date, and for this reason, people show little interest in buying them. In the end, a person not only loses their capital but also faces despair.
Ayesha adds that some officials of these networks continue to follow up and contact a person even after the person has decided to quit, and in some cases even visit their home. According to her, many young people realize after some time that they have lost their capital as a result of trusting the promises of these networks.
This young woman says: “I myself worked in this sector for a month. My leader, or my superior, was a woman who constantly called me and would not stop following up until my WhatsApp account was hacked.”
Meanwhile, some young people told the Hasht-e Subh Daily some time ago that the activity of fake employment agencies has recently increased. They added that these companies have taken money from applicants under the name of providing job opportunities, offering career counseling, and helping with recruitment at foreign companies and international organizations, but in practice have provided no services to them.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
وعده درآمد دالری؛ جوانان بیکار افغانستان در دام شبکههای سرمایهگذاری آنلاین
