Could Jocial Be a Pyramid Scheme?

Jocial is a website that has been consistently ranking among the most-searched websites on Scamadviser since the past few months. As per the domain registration data, the website name has only been registered in June 2020. However, the Scamadviser page of Jocial has gathered more than 2,500 reviews within a short span. Such high activity is not normal and has been flagged as suspicious by our systems.

We have also been receiving a flood of comments about this website daily, most of which are generic comments like ‘very good platform’. In some cases, referral links or referral IDs are shared in an attempt to recruit more people.

I have already published an in-depth review of Jocial on my blog Fake Website Buster where I have pointed out several red flags regarding why Jocial is likely to be a Pyramid scheme. The company running the website seems to be operating anonymously using a shell incorporation and does not appear to be transparent or trustworthy. Reasons include:

• Users have to pay before they can earn. Genuine companies don't operate in such a way. It is a sign of a pyramid scheme. Companies that are genuinely profitable deduct fees from payments.
• Payments can only be made using cryptocurrency, which is one of the most unsafe methods for online payment as the transactions cannot be tracked
  Clearly lying about being active since 2008. The website was a parked domain till June 2020
• UK registrations are not credible as they can be obtained at a very low cost with no verification
• Even if Jamie March is a real person, there is no proof that he is an actual professional with experience in IT or Advertising with the expertise to run a business
• The 'Nature of Business' in the company registration (fund management) does not match what the company actually does (advertising services)
• No real company profile on LinkedIn. Only a personal profile has been created and this seems to be an attempt to hide the identity of the operator/s
• Facebook page is managed from Bangladesh, India and Ukraine even though they claim Jocial is a UK-based company
• Email ID is a catch-all address, which means they don't have a specific ID to monitor emails
• Fake reviews posted on TrustPilot (same reviews posted by multiple users, new accounts, etc.)

In this article, I will take a look at the inner workings of Jocial to understand whether Jocial really is an Influencer Marketing company as it claims. 

What is Influencer Marketing?

Firstly, let’s take a look at what the term ‘Influencer Marketing’ means to understand how well Jocial fits the definition of an influencer marketing platform. According to Wikipedia:

Influencer marketing (also known as influence marketing) is a form of social media marketing involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organizations who have a purported expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field. Influencer content may be framed as testimonial advertising; influencers play the role of a potential buyer, or may be involved as third parties.

From the above definition, we can gather that to be an Influencer,

• You need to have expertise or knowledge (ie. be ‘influential’) in a particular field
• You need to promote certain products or services related to the field

Further, Wikipedia states the following regarding payments that are made to Influencers:

Most influencers are paid before the start of a marketing campaign, and others are paid after it ends. In addition to (or in lieu of) a fee, payment may include free products or services. For influencers with smaller followings, free products or services may be the only form of compensation.

It is clear from the above that Influencers are compensated for their promotional efforts monetarily or in the form of free products/services. Influencers do not have to make any kind of payment, they only receive payments. 

Is Jocial an Influencer Marketing Platform?

There are a quite a few reasons due to which Jocial can be said to not be an Influencer marketing platform. Firstly, to be an ‘Influencer’ on Jocial, you need to only have 25 followers/friends on any social media platform. In reality, even users having tens of thousands of followers on platforms like Instagram are considered ‘micro-influencers’. There is no agency in the world that considers people with 25 followers as Influencers.

Secondly, no Influencer marketing agency ever requires the Influencer to pay them. Influencers command a certain amount of respect in their spheres. However, in the case of Jocial, you need not have any expertise or recognition in a specific niche. 

Users cannot join Jocial’s platform without a referral code and have to pay a ‘subscription fee’. Both of these are classic signs of a Pyramid scheme. Jocial tries to downplay this by stating that it is not an ‘Investment Plan’ but a ‘Subscription-based Influencer Marketing Platform’. However, the fact that you have to make a payment with the expectation of earning a profit implies that Jocial is indeed an investment scheme. 

While signing up on the platform is free, it is impossible to actually use the platform unless you subscribe first. This is clearly shown by the fact that important sections of the dashboard are locked out until you subscribe.

As we saw earlier, influencer marketing involves promoting the products or services of a brand. However, the promotions being done through Jocial are of Jocial itself. All the promotional materials provided are for the self-promotion of Jocial. It does not seem that they have any brands who have signed up as clients on the platform.

As part of the ‘subscription’, Jocial also claims to provide a certificate in Digital Marketing from the ‘Jocial School of Internet Marketing’. However, the worth and validity of this certificate is questionable as it is not accredited by any third-party. 

How Do You Earn Through Jocial?

The most important aspect to look at to understand whether Jocial is a pyramid scheme disguised as a marketing platform is to look at the earnings system. It is quite clear from Jocial’s compensation plan document that the main way to earn on the platform is by recruiting others. 

Jocial encourages users to convince more people to sign-up and purchase a subscription. In exchange, the user receives a commission bonus on not just subscriptions made by direct referrals, but on the subscriptions made by referrals or referrals too. This is an exact reflection of the compensation plans of Pyramid schemes. 

As we have seen already, it does not look as if Jocial has any real clients. Real marketing agencies generate a revenue by charging clients to promote their products/services through a network of Influencers. In the case of Jocial, the only income stream seems to be the subscription fees paid by the users themselves. As such, I am inclined to believe that Jocial may be nothing more than a Pyramid scheme that is trying to appear legal by donning the guise of a marketing agency. 

Due to the above reasons, I strongly suggest users to avoid signing up on Jocial, as it does not seem to be a genuine marketing platform. While some may argue that Jocial is a legitimate company as it is paying out users, it does not prove with certainty that Jocial may not be a scam. Pyramid schemes always pay out initially to gain the confidence of investors so that they recruit more people and re-invest larger amounts. Pyramid schemes are unsustainable and illegal as a majority of the investors in these platforms end up losing their money. The schemes do not actually generate any profit; money from new investors is used to pay old investors and the schemes collapse when recruitment slows down or stops. There is a fair chance that Jocial has been knowingly-designed to meet the same fate.

To know more about how you can recognize scams regarding investments and employment, please read the below articles:

• Work From Home Job Scams
• How to Identify Cryptocurrency Investment Plans
• What are HYIPs?
• Pay to Click Scams

Follow our social media channels for news about the latest scams and tips to stay safe online. We also invite you to join the growing community of scam fighters on our Facebook Group.

• Scamadviser Facebook Page
• Global Scam Fighters - Facebook Group
• Scamadviser Twitter Profile
• YouTube Channel

This article has been written by a scam fighter volunteer. If you believe the article above contains inaccuracies or is missing relevant information, please contact Scamadviser.com using this form.