BBB: ‘Secret Sister’ Gift Exchanges Are Illegal Pyramid Schemes

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Better Business Bureau is warning consumers about a gift exchange they’re calling an illegal pyramid scheme.

Secret Sister gift exchanges often star with an email or a social media invitation, according to the BBB.

“The ‘Secret Sister’ gift exchange campaign quickly became popular in 2015 through Facebook posts promising participants would receive up to 36 gifts, in exchange for sending one gift, valued at $10,” according to the Better Business Bureau’s website. “Users were encouraged to invite others to participate in the holiday gift exchange, then promised they would receive information on where to mail the gifts.”

Participants are then prompted to provide their name, address, and personal information of some of their friends before sending the invitation along to their friends and family. The cycle continues, with people buying and shipping presents for people they don’t know — hoping they get the promised 36 gifts in return.

The Better Business Bureau said that’s not what actually happens.

“Just like any other pyramid scheme, it relies on the recruitment of individuals to keep the scam afloat,” according to the BBB. “Once people stop participating in the gift exchange, the gift supply stops as well, and leaves hundreds of disappointed people without their promised gifts.”

Pyramid schemes are illegal in the United States, and officials are urging social media users not to accept any invites to gift exchanges. Anyone who receives an invitation to one of these exchanges on Facebook should report it by clicking the upper righthand corner and selecting “report post” or “report photo.”

Go to bbb.org for more information.