Consumer Council and Police monitor 'Elite Society' Facebook page for alleged pyramid scheme

A Facebook page, ‘Elite Society’ is on the radar of the Consumer Council of Fiji and the Police as it is suspected to be a pyramid scheme that is allegedly recruiting agents for a possible scheme.

While responding to questions by fijivillage News, the Consumer Council of Fiji says they have been monitoring the ‘Elite Society’ page on Facebook and although no complaints have been officially registered with the Council regarding the page, numerous consumer inquiries prompted an initial investigation.

They say during their preliminary investigation, the Council has found that the page is administered by an individual named Mark Manaog, allegedly based in the Philippines.

The Council says despite having only 997 followers, the associated individual accounts boast significantly higher follower counts.

Allegedly, the page is recruiting agents for a possible multi-level marketing scheme, requiring an initial investment of $1,200 and upon payment, buyers are promised a package from ‘Elite Society’ contains various skincare and health products, purportedly for resale.

They say several local 'coaches' have been enlisted by Elite Society to promote the scheme on social media, aiming to expand its reach and attract more participants.

The Council says based on the promotional activities surrounding the Elite Society page and its products, they suspect it to be a scam.

They say people should avoid engaging with this page due to the high risk involved.

Once the Council has completed its preliminary investigation, it will make the findings public.

They say this matter is also before the Anti-Scam taskforce which is chaired by the Permanent Secretary for Trade, Co-operatives, Small and Medium Enterprises and Communications.

The taskforce comprises of Consumer Council of Fiji, Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission; Reserve Bank of Fiji and Fiji Police Force and Online Safety Commission.

Meanwhile, Assistant Commissioner of Police Crime, Mesake Waqa says they suspect that it is a pyramid scheme and the Cybercrime Unit is closely monitoring it.