In recent years, a large number of various "investment platforms" have emerged on the internet, most of which are Ponzi schemes. They deceive newcomers by pretending to be foreign exchange trading platforms, stock investment platforms, etc. Once users register and open an account with payment, the deceitful operations begin, roping in more and more users to invest increasing amounts of money until the bubble bursts, leading to the operators absconding with the funds and leaving investors staring at closed websites or finding their accounts filled with unavailable funds.
As more and more people have been tricked, this pattern has become increasingly recognized. Most investors no longer trust such online foreign exchange speculation schemes. However, fraudsters constantly innovate their scams and a new platform called Oasis Ventures has recently appeared.
Oasis Ventures claims to be registered in the Kingdom of Bahrain, but relevant information such as specific registration time, address, and regulatory oversight is not publicly available, indicating extremely high investment risk for investors.
They currently have three main services: fund products, share rewards, and development foundation, each with its own complexities.
There are four types of fund products, each with different investment amounts, daily return rates, and drawdown rates, but no other differences.
These four fund products require actual cash investments from users, but the returns are not in real money but in a currency they created called OUSD. This seems a minor difference at first, but it's significant as the platform can delay or even stop currency exchange at will and adjust the exchange rate as they please.
By now, most investors will have realized that these so-called "fund products" are neither regular nor reliable investment products. But that's not the only trap they have set up.
The second trap is "share rewards," a misnomer as what's shared is not rewards but misfortune, with a pyramid selling-like mechanism. Investors are encouraged to recruit others to earn rewards based either on the number and investment amounts of recruits or by achieving ranks through recruitment numbers.
There's no fundamental difference between these two methods, both exploiting investors' greed to draw in new users for the platform, leading to a snowball effect as tricked investors desperately recommend the platform to friends and family, urging them to invest more.
Beyond these blatant scams, they have also carefully crafted a third fraud called the "Development Foundation," which is only ostensibly a legitimate organization.
As we can see from the image above, of the funds "invested" by users, 70% is returned to them, while the remaining 30% is divided amongst the so-called Development Foundation, where the division coefficients for each of its four sections differ. The first two only receive 2.5%, subtly indicating to users to look into the remaining two sections, which have higher proportions.
The first two sections are pitched as more professional, akin to real implementers. In reality, there are no such sections because seasoned investors can see through the deception, and they are not the intended targets; rather, newcomers are.
The remaining two sections cater to newcomers, firstly the "Global Strategic Advisory Group," taking a 5% cut. Despite the grandiose title, this position actually involves bidding and competition among investors. The group led by the top recruiter gets a share, with the specific division still controlled by the platform.
While the "Global Strategic Advisory Group" is for competition among recruiters, the final “Oasis Influence Network” is for competition among the lower tiers of recruited investors. The barrier to entry here is much lower; purchasing more than 3000 Tether's worth of fund products qualifies for a position, although spots are limited. There are only 299 slots for the 3000 tier, and if those are filled, one must go for the 6000 tier with 199 spots, or the last tier of 10000 Tether with only 100 spots.
At this point, the platform instills a sense of urgency, indicating that the 3000 slots are limited and it's first-come, first-served. Once they're gone, one must upgrade to a higher tier, then suggesting that purchases now are at a benefit, and upon the end of the promotional period, the benefits will diminish. The underlying message is that to make money, one must act quickly or miss the opportunity.
This cultivation of anxiety is a common marketing tactic, from endless shop sales to internet claims of surging property and car prices. Although cliché, it's effective; many people lose their ability to think calmly under such pressure, leading to impulsive "bite the bullet" decisions.
This anxious mentality is a major taboo in investing. Impulsive purchases may result in overpriced clothing but still leave one with a new item, whereas hasty investments can lead to total losses.
As of January 15, 2024, Oasis Ventures's media site has not been updated for 20 days, and their Twitter (X) account also stopped updating 4 days ago. Given various unreliable details, we can conclude that this site is unreliable. Nearly 20,000 people have joined, with one-tenth, or 2000, being users from Chinese-speaking regions. We hope those who have joined will quickly cut their losses and escape, and those who haven't joined should stay well clear!
