Home > Terms > English, UK (UE) > Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A scam, named after its most prolific perpetrator Charle's Ponzi who ran a large scale version of the trick in 1920.
The scheme relies on attracting investors using empty promises about a potential business investment, and initially relies heavily on the social engineering skills of the scam artist. Once some initial money is invested, the scammer will pay out a return on the investment to prove that the venture works. In reality, this money is the same money that was initially invested, but it convinces the victims to invest more heavily and attracts more participants. This cycle continues until the scam artist receives an amount he is happy with and disappears taking all of the money for himself.
- Part of Speech: noun
- Synonym(s):
- Blossary:
- Industry/Domain: Anthropology
- Category: Cultural anthropology
- Company:
- Product:
- Acronym-Abbreviation:
Other Languages:
Member comments
Terms in the News
Featured Terms
Amniotic fluid embolism
Blocking of maternal circulation by amniotic fluid that is forced into uterine veins by strong uterine contraction near the end of pregnancy. It is ...
Contributor
Featured blossaries
Browers Terms By Category
- General boating(783)
- Sailboat(137)
- Yacht(26)
Boat(946) Terms
- Biochemistry(4818)
- Genetic engineering(2618)
- Biomedical(4)
- Green biotechnology(4)
- Blue biotechnology(1)
Biotechnology(7445) Terms
- Prevention & protection(6450)
- Fire fighting(286)
Fire safety(6736) Terms
- Nightclub terms(32)
- Bar terms(31)
Bars & nightclubs(63) Terms
- Cosmetics(80)