A woman on TikTok shared how she was nearly lured into joining a multi-level marketing (MLM) company. More than money, her recruiter offered something we all crave—friendship.
In the viral video, which has more than 1.3 million views, Dani (@danimorin13) shared a PSA on how she was recruited to join Amway.
“The Amway scam is back and this new tactic that they’re using on girls in their like mid-20s is going to literally break your heart and make you wanna cry,” said Dani, who usually posts parenting, child safety, and travel content.
Quick recap: Amway is widely considered a multi-level marketing company (also known as an MLM or pyramid scheme), meaning it makes money by recruiting people into the business. This type of structure keeps the wealth at the top of the company with those who can recruit a lot of new people and puts a financial burden on those at the bottom (hence the pyramid scheme visual and name).
While Amway is an MLM, the “products” it sells include personal care items, nutrition supplements, and home goods. Amway denies being an MLM and it has a whole page on its site dedicated to this.
“They do not sell products, they sell a dream of financial freedom,” Dani summed up.
In her situation, Dani was financially stable, but a girl she knew from a job interview several years back reached out recently after her son passed away when she was “desperate for a friend.”
She expressed condolence about the passing of Dani’s son and invited her over to her house for coffee. They’re having a great time at coffee and the new friend vaguely mentions a couple she and her husband met who taught them how to be financially free. The hook is that the woman mentions that since meeting the duo they now have “the best group of friends.”
“I want in, I’m so lonely,” Dani says.
Over the course of 12 weeks, Dani ends up meeting others in the MLM and even attends a large event supposedly led by the CEO with thousands of attendees. Halfway through this journey Dani still doesn’t know the name of the company since they use different names like “Millennium Consultants.”
@danimorin13 Ok i can’t believe the scam has resurfaced and it will break your heart I also spent 12 weeks thinking i had a new friend and was totally bamboozled and what they are doing now is even worse. So keep to yourself when your out and about. They don’t want to be your friend. If it seems too good to be true it is. #mlmscam #amway #amwaybusinessowner ♬ original sound – Dani | Mom & Child Safety
When her “friend” does finally give details about how the business works the warning bells immediately go off in Dani’s brain.
“Amway,” she thinks to herself.
After telling her mom about it, Dani becomes certain she’s being Amway scammed and lets her new friend know she can’t join. While she was understanding, they never saw each other again.
“I was sold on a friendship… what they’re doing now is 10 times worse,” Dani said.
She added that she’s noticed it’s “cool girls” going after “cool girls” and they’ll even hang out at places like Ulta to spark up conversation with people to recruit them. Dani said she’s seen several videos of women who were recruited thinking they’d bonded with a new friend only to realize it was all an MLM scam.
“Be safe out there and don’t get Amway scammed,” Dani said.
There have been several articles, exposés, podcasts, and documentaries about people who have participated in MLMs.
On the financial side they often end up losing money and even going into debt because of the costs of joining, buying inventory, and attending trainings and events. Unless they recruit a ton of people into this system, the chances of making a profit are slim.
Socially, people who join MLMs often end up with strained relationships with the people around them who they pressure to join or buy products. And if a person leaves the MLM they can face isolation since the MLM community ends up being their source of connection, especially if they’ve, as stated, strained their existing relationships with their friends and family.
People had a lot to say under Dani’s video, leaving nearly 3,000 comments.
“I saw Amway in the headlines, recently. I was like NOOOOO!!! My parents were in it for years. Total cult,” a top comment read.
“As a military wife, when we had just moved to San Diego. I thought I met a girl friend through my husbands job- I was so lonely. Nope. She wanted me to join amway. I was so sad,” a person shared.
“she did this after your son died? I’m so sorry,” another pointed out.
“As a therapist and a mom.. it hurts me that they prey on our desire to make a friend! We just don’t have time for a social life… that’s so sad,” a commenter wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Dani for comment via email.