PYRAMID SCHEME MAKING ROUNDS0

Dinner invitations promising quick money should be taken with a grain of salt, a Missouri Attorney General's spokesman said.

Pyramid schemes called "The Dinner Club," "The Original Dinner Club," or a similar name have appeared in Southeast Missouri over the past six weeks, spokesman Scott Holste said.

Organizers ask people to participate in a "dinner party," where money is given to people at the top of a "gifting tree." Those at the top are at the "dessert level," while those starting out are at the "soup and salad level," Holste said.

It takes a $5,000 investment to begin, Holste said.

"We've had reports of people getting credit card advances, taking out second mortgages or borrowing money to make the payment to join one of these schemes," Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said in a press release.

Participants make money by recruiting others to join. If they can't, the pyramid collapses and most participants lose their money, Holste said.

The scheme has also been called the "Women's Empowerment Network," or "The Breakfast Club."

The attorney general's office received calls of a scheme last spring from around Kansas City, Mo. Based on complaints, organizers have since moved east to St. Louis, Farmington, Potosi and Ste. Genevieve.

Although Perryville police received a call or two daily in August, inquiries about pyramid schemes have stopped, Chief Eugene Besand said.

Cape Girardeau police have not recorded recent pyramid scheme complaints, it does not mean organizers aren't here, Lt. John Brown said.

Victims are too embarrassed to come to police, Brown said. When they do, it is usually weeks after they have lost their money.

IDENTIFYING PYRAMID SCHEMES

Federal Trade Commission tips on pyramid schemes:

* Avoid a plan that offers commissions for recruiting distributors.

* Beware of plans that ask distributors to spend money on high-priced inventory. These plans can collapse quickly -- and may be illegal pyramids in disguise.

* Be wary of claims to make money through growth of your "downline" -- commissions on sales from distributors you recruit -- instead of through your sales.

* Beware of shills -- "decoy" references the promoter pays to describe fictional success in earning through the plan.

* Don't pay or sign contracts in an "opportunity meeting" or other high-pressure situation. Take time to think over a decision to join.

Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline: 1-800-392-8222

FTC Consumer Response Center: 1-877-382-4357