Paramvir Cheema recollects selling off his phone after falling victim to a pyramid scheme
Mumbai, June 5
Actor Paramvir Cheema, who is receiving a lot of positive response to his work in his recently released streaming show 'The Pyramid Scheme', once had to sell off his phone after he fell prey to one of the pyramid schemes.
The actor spoke with IANS along with Ranvir Shorey, Shreyansh Pandey and Shekhar Suman during the promotional run of the show, and said that he had to sell off his phone in order to pay off his creditors.
He told IANS, "Someone from my locality came to me and told me that this is how it is. And you will earn money sitting at home. And earning money sitting at home feels like doing nothing. You just have to talk to people. You have to tell them that this is the product, they will sell it and you will get the money. And I got into it. And I still remember at that time, I had this phone Samsung Corby. And after some time, I had to sell my phone to pay off some people that I don't have money for. So earlier, it was easy for such schemes".
The actor also said that conmen will always find their subjects, it all depends on what they're selling to them.
When asked if it's difficult to con people in the age of the Internet, he said, "I think it depends on the scheme you are selling. It depends on which dream you are selling. And if you crack the right thing, then it is very easy nowadays. Social media is such a thing, when we feel that all the youth have started following this thing".
He then subtly pointed to the emergence of the Cockroach Janta Party, the Indian satirical political movement.
He said, "Like some parties are coming up now. So we all go there without knowing what is their core, where it is coming from. 'My friend is following this thing, even I am going to do it'. This has happened because of social media. I think nowadays, if someone gets a scheme like this, then it is difficult. But it is very easy to influence people in India because everybody is looking for a shortcut. A lot of the population is below the poverty line. So you can see that everyone is after it", he added.
Produced by The Viral Fever, created by Shreyansh Pandey, 'The Pyramid Scheme' is directed by Ashish R Shukla and Shreyansh Pandey, The series is available to stream on Prime Video.
— IANS
Reader Comments
"Everybody is looking for a shortcut" – this hits hard. In a country where most struggle to make ends meet, these schemes exploit hope. The Cockroach Janta Party reference was unexpected but so relevant! Social media is a double-edged sword 🗡️
Good that he's using his platform to talk about this. But I wish he mentioned the actual financial damage these schemes cause – families lose life savings. Entertainment shows about this are great, but we need real awareness campaigns.
Paramvir's point about conmen "selling a dream" is bang on. These schemes thrive on our desire for easy success. The Cockroach Janta Party jab was subtle but savage 😄 Will definitely check out 'The Pyramid Scheme' on Prime Video!
It's interesting how pyramid schemes have evolved in the digital age. The reference to influencing youth via social media is particularly accurate – we see it everywhere from crypto to MLM. Glad someone in the public eye is speaking out about this.
The part about "earning money sitting at home" being attractive is so true – especially post-COVID when everyone wants remote work. But we need to teach people to question anything promising quick riches. Kudos to Paramvir for sharing his embarrassing but important lesson.
D David E