Don’t Be Duped

The Central Bank on Wednesday warned the public against using foreign currency bank drafts or membership charges to invest in pyramid or similar referral marketing schemes.

The Central Bank on Wednesday warned the public against using foreign currency bank drafts or membership charges to invest in pyramid or similar referral marketing schemes. The notice, the fourth in a series of public warnings, comes as the bank steps up its awareness campaign to deter people from using their credit cards to invest in such schemes.

Pyramid and similar referral schemes have made use of global access credit cards to enable Sri Lankans to invest in their products.

But the Central Bank says payments to foreign companies using foreign exchange and enrolling such people to such schemes on behalf of third parties, violates the present Exchange Control laws.

As the bank ups the heat on pyramid or similar referral schemes operating in Sri Lanka, the Controller of Exchange says these firms are now attempting to collect foreign currency payments as membership charges or request payments in other forms such as bank drafts and mail transfers and so on.

"This change in the mode of p