Helping Hands International Review: $40 recruitment opp
Helping Hands International went into prelaunch in late 2013 and appear to have gone on to officially launch in early 2014.
The company claims to be based out of Angels City in the Philippines, and was co-founded by Luzviminda Mac-Elvis (who also serves as CEO) and Ramiel Policarpio.
Note that Helping Hands International the MLM company uses the “helpinghandsinternational.biz” website domain. A charity with the same name exists over at “helpinghandsinternational.com”, however it appears to be an unrelated business.
The Helping Hands International .BIZ website domain was registered anonymously on October 31st, 2013.
In her Helping Hands corporate bio, Mac-Elvis (right) describes herself as being
a simple lady of little beginning who has enjoyed the mercy and grace of God.
My growth experience has shown me that irrespective of background, location or education, you can still achieve your dreams.
Whether or not Mac-Elvis has any prior MLM experience is unclear, as her name only appears on the internet in conjunction with Helping Hands International (often abbreviated as H2i).
Ditto Policarpio, whose name also only appears online in conjunction with Helping Hands.
Read on for a full review of the Helping Hands International MLM business opportunity.
The Helping Hands International Product Line
Helping Hands International do not have any retailable products or services. The company’s website contains a boatload of copy about charities and loans, however none of this appears to have anything to do with the MLM business opportunity itself.
The Helping Hands International Compensation Plan
The Helping Hands International compensation plan revolves around affiliates buying matrix positions, and then recruiting others who do the same.
As an ASSOCIATE member your helping hands international account is enabled to sponsor and introduce others with your referral link or direct referring. You can then introduce at least 2 and these 2 introduce their own 2 each.
Note that a Helping Hands International affiliate must personally recruit at least two new affiliates, otherwise they don’t qualify to earn commissions.
Positions in the Helping Hands matrix cost $40, with commissions paid out as each matrix fills. There are five matrix levels in the first tier of Helping Hands International’s compensation plan, and they are as follows:
- Associate (2×2 matrix, 6 positions) – $10 cycle commission plus $8 per position filled by a personally recruited affiliate (max commission = $58) and entry into Master
- Master (2×5 matrix, 62 positions) – $1000 cycle commission, a “free laptop or iPad” and entry into Super Master
- Super Master (2×5 matrix, 62 positions) – $3000 cycle commission, “a brand new Hyundai ix10”, $2000 to be “given away” to two recommended people and entry into Minister
- Minister – (2×5 matrix, 62 positions) – $6000 cycle commission, “an executive Hyundai”, $1000 to be paid to “one motherless home or disabled home in your neighborhood”, an “interest FREE loan due – up to $12,000 (no collateral is required)” and entry into Prime Minister
- Prime Minister (2×2 matrix, 6 positions) – $11,500 cycle commission, re-entry into a new Prime Minister matrix (up to 6 re-entries)
Note that additional benefits such as an “international trip, housing fund, educational fund, yearly infinity bonus and yearly elite club members loan (up to $44,000) are also mentioned as bonuses if an affiliate cycles out of a Prime Minister matrix, however no specific information is provided.
Matching Bonuses are also paid out from the Master matrix level. These commissions are paid out to the affiliate who recruited the affiliate earning a cycle commission:
- Master – $100
- Super Master – $150
- Minister – $300
- Prime Minister – $600
After a Helping Hands International affiliate cycles out of six Prime Minister matrices, they are then moved up to the second tier of the company’s compensation plan.
This second tier involves the filling of a single “Trustee” 2×3 matrix, which has 14 positions to fill. Four of these positions must be filled by personally recruited affiliates.
Once their Trustee matrix is filled, a Helping Hands International affiliate receives:
- an $80,000 “Trustee Bonus”
- a $10,000 annual “Global Profit Pool” bonus
- $10,000 in “residual income for life”
- “Director” status in the “next country” Helping Hands International starts recruiting in, which qualifies the affiliate for a “1% commission on all sign ups” in the new country
“Scholarship awards” are also mentioned, however again no specifics are provided.
Joining Helping Hands International
Affiliate membership to Helping Hands International is $40. This covers the cost of entry into an Associate level matrix.
Conclusion
HELPING HANDS INTERNATIONAL was born out of passion for helping others to live, ours is a premier non-governmental organization, Unique and second to none, offering humanitarian services that empowers both members and nonmembers through our life changing and empowerment business opportunity.
Any time you’re approached about an MLM opportunity and they hit you with a hard-sell on charity, alarm bells should almost immediately start going off.
The reason is that, to date I’ve yet to see any of these companies base their compensation plans around anything but recruitment. In the end, all your left with is your stock-standard pyramid scheme, with a little of the money pumped into the scheme by affiliates diverted to (insert random charitable cause here).
Why some pyramid schemes do this is obvious. First and foremost it’s used as a marketing tactic. “Help the kids!”, “Change the world!” and similar catch-phrases are commonly used to pitch charity frontend, pyramid scheme backend opportunities.
In the case of Helping Hands International, not only is it right there in the name of the company, but it’s also the first thing visitors to their website see:
WELCOME!
Helping hands international is an empowerment-based- membership program, a global empowerment opportunity born out of passion for helping the less privileged.
The second primary reason recruitment-driven schemes hide behind charity is to evoke the “but we do good!”, “what about all the people we help?” and similar justifications.
Strawman arguments at best, ultimately what is done with pyramid scheme money doesn’t make a pyramid scheme any less of a pyramid scheme. If anything, these companies are hurting charities by pumping fraudulently obtained funds into them.
In regards to Helping Hands International, all you have is your typical $40 a pop matrix-driven recruitment scheme. Affiliates buy in, and then set about recruiting others who also pump $40 (or more if multiple positions are bought) into the company.
If you peel back the charity facade, Helping Hands are actually quite candid about what the opportunity is really about. Taken from their FAQ:
How many members would I need directly under me?
Just two. However, you can bring as many as possible.
What if I register more than two?
Yeah, if you do it will be of great advantage to you in speed and earnings.
Can I have multiple Account?
Certainly yes, you can have 6, 10 or 12 accounts directly to your name, before you do that you must be sure you can refer 2 each under the rest accounts, else you will find it difficult to grow.
Helping Hands’ “How it works” page breaks things down even further:
Members are required to introduce at least two (2) persons and this two (2) will have to do same to enjoy all benefit listed above plus others in our compensation plan and reward.
In the compensation plan, Helping Hands even refer to an affiliate’s position purchase as an investment, complete with “wonderful” return:
If you introduced at least 2 members – you make $26, giving you 80% of your investment back same day. Incredible right?
How much more when you introduce all 6 in your matrix, You will make $58 that is over 150% return-wonderful!
So what you waiting for call friends and relations, refer as many as you can and rake in good money.
“Rake in the money”, as with all pyramid scheme, that’s all that’s really happening here. Divert a few thousand from the entry fees paid by thousands of people required to reach the upper matrix tiers of Helping Hands and hope to lure countless suckers into the scheme below them.
No doubt Luzviminda Mac-Elvis and Ramiel Policarpio have multiple positions at the top of the company-wide matrices, and stand to gain the most from those recruited into the bottom.
As with all pyramid schemes, once recruitment and subsequently the purchasing of $40 matrix positions by affiliates stops, Helping Hands International will implode.
What that means for the loans and “guaranteed annual incomes” the company purportedly offered is unclear – leave alone the question of how they are regulated or by who.
Footnote: There’s likely to be Helping Hand International affiliates who only read the title of this review, and then rush to leave a comment praising the merits of any charitable activities that occur as a side-effect to the running of the pyramid scheme.
Please be advised that these comments will be marked as offtopic spam.
If you want to change the world, by all means donate to legitimate charities or volunteer your own time with reputable organisations – don’t join pyramid schemes in the hope you’ll “rake it in” and then try to pass it off as humanitarianism.
You’re not fooling anybody.
I must say that my knowledge of MLM has gone from zero to learning that to make money…. people will try anything.
Thanks for giving me the life lessons on this subject. I am a small victim of Telexfree but i read just about every other MLM article you put up….man….I will run away from them as fast as I can…but it all makes for very interesting reading.
One thing I have noticed….there is no other MLM article/review that brings more comments/discussion than Telexfree…that is a feisty one 🙂
Is it me or those names sounds very… Filipino?
@JMADSANTOS — that’s what’s hot right now. Go look in the archives about “SpeakAsia” and you’ll see even more stuff. 😀
@ K. Chang – very far from Filipino! 🙂
Yip, just today another blog about Telexfree and immediately I see 15 comments…it’s almost like everyone is just waiting for some news to be able to vent.
I’m off myself to go and read the news…and comments….
Adios!
@ K. Chang…in the immediate rush of answering i misunderstood your Filipino comment – after going back up to article I now understand you were referring to review and not my name.
See you on the other side!
The alleged perps, not you. 🙂
browsed through Speak Asia archives – quite active but long before I even knew what a pyramid scheme is.
If you’re looking for major cases / major schemes, here’s a few:
* Polaris Global Media (Liberty League International), Australia 2009. Reorganized, but not shut down completely, still active today. Seminar based promotional pyramid with some connections to Scientology.
* SpeakAsia Online (already mentioned), India 2011, halted in May 2011. Case still going on in court (it had very little progress for long periods of time). Online survey based Ponzi/pyramid hybrid (“work from home”).
* Zeek Rewards, USA 2012. Shut down “voluntarily” on August 17 2012, case is still going on in court. Penny auction based Ponzi/pyramid hybrid (“get paid to post ads” plus investment in sample bids).
* TelexFree, Brazil 2013 and USA 2014, extremely ongoing. 🙂
* TVI Express, India and world (jumped from country to country). K. Chang can probably offer some information.
If you didn’t look for that, then the list will probably be of interest to some others. 🙂
Thanks for this review. In my view, this is a far legitimate program compared to the scams I have been involved with in the past decade.
For a record, be it that it may be a pyramid of sorts, trust me you that many out there are gonna benefit from it……it is far more rewarding than any of the plans I have been seeing online.
@jarrod
There’s no such thing as a “legitimate” MLM pyramid. Be it of sorts or otherwise.
Well, I disagree with you. People are having a field day earning in this program and you still insist it is fake.
Well, as long as the CEO is not hiding and she is delivering, has good intentions and is here to ensure its sustainability long after her, H2i will survive well beyond your grand children’s generation.
I have seen so many MLMs that are still here for decades and, indeed, their comp plans are “pyramids” as you’d want to hear but in essence I am sure these programs are gonna clock hundreds if not thousands of years!! So take it or leave it, MLM is the way to go as long as the people behind it are willing to have it go on.
This issue of saying a program or pyramid as you wanna call it is gonna implode is synonymopus with saying business will implode because people will have bought everything and they have it.
Well, you sound a freegan only interested in making destructive critiques of any MLM program irrespective of whether it has short or long term objectives. The best of luck!!
What does that have to do with the payment of commission on recruitment of new affiliates?
The sustainability of a pyramid scheme isn’t up to the intentions of its owner. Pyramid schemes are unsustainable, period.
Strawman argument and wholly irrelevant.
Horseshit.
What I sound like is irrelevant.
The facts are as follows: Helping Hands International is a recrutiment-driven pyramid scheme.
That’s what all the Filipinos affiliates said when TVI Express collapsed around them (except in Phillipines, back then). Even a year after TVI Express mastermind Tarun Trikha was arrested, I STILL get affiliates claiming TVI Express is running fine and they’re getting paid.
Heck, there’s at least one TVI Express members who took the money they got from their downlines and went home to Phillipines to start a clone.
Whatever you like say, H2i is far more than MLM. It may be similar, but it is different. Touching lives and empowering people indeed.
Come to Nigeria and see how many lives have been touching through H2i. I witnessed the Official Launching live on 31st May 2014. The Luz. Mac-Elvins was in Nigeria live.
Over 100 members received Brand New Helping Hands customized Apple Ipads, 4 members received Brand New Hyundai (Elantra 2014) car. The MD Hyundai Nigerian was present at the event.
Non-members who benefited from the humanitarian services across Nigeria were present to and share their testimonies.
Call it whatever you like, H2i is touching lives and empowering people.
Long live H2i, long live Nigerian
MLM compensation plan = MLM company.
No thanks.
It’s a $40 recruitment-driven income opportunity. All the other crap you posted is irrelevant marketing bullshit.
…princes?
Dude, let me in on one successful online program that has been here for years, one that aint recruitment driven and neither a pyramid……
I am here to find where to find where to put my money and have it grow, but not to have the admin refer to my post as mere crap!!
You need to have your ‘CPU upgraded’ so you can realize the importance of your blogs and the reason we have to visit it… “Horseshit” “crap” et al aint assertive, healthy communication as you seem to think you are doing….
I see you seem to be undergoing a bipolar disorder but this should not warrant the insults….borrow a leaf from K. Chang.
Then you’re in the wrong place.
Harden the fuck up princess. You may not like the harsh reality of the scam(s) you participate in, but they are what they are.
I laugh hard at Samuel. I live in Nigeria. I passed on this so-called opportunity when they tried to put that scam on me. I smelled it long before they finished they first line.
Where is it today? Imploded as imploded can be pronounced.
Not a single one of their anonymously registered websites is working. Samuel sits here and yacks about ‘100’ odd people have benefited. Cowdunk!
In a country with over 170 million people living in the most precarious social conditions, he really thinks 100 people with 3000 dollar cheques and maybe a brand new car is the definition of success? Give me break!
A person selling ‘pure water’ in this country can earn that and get that car! Oh, they do actually.
Until we Nigerians AND Africans get educated and employ our critical thinking skills with a BREAKTHROUGH MENTALITY towards direct sales, we will NEVER understand this industry nor appreciate the true value it can bring.
He is asking to show one business that has stood the test of time in this industry and made 7 figure millionaires? Are you kidding me? I can name not one but 100.
AVON, MARY KAY, AMWAY, FOREVER LIVING (which has been in Nigeria for 15 years now!), 5LINX etc etc etc… here is the thing, our people (and trust me, I know them) a) refuse to get educated (because they think they know it all AND b) prefer to get rich quick.
After all, where did 419 scams start from?
Thank you for your empowering and enlightening article. Let the wise listen – otherwise, they are part and parcel of the problem, of the scam, or the pyramids that have come and gone. And like they are, they will all die a natural death.
I am a woman by the way. 🙂
Most people call that a bank. So you’re definitely in the wrong place.
If u can do what is reqd of u, I’ll make your money there.
Even other BIZ are full of ups and downs. H2i is not pyramid scheme. It is a team.
I put in only $40 and I have made x20 consistently. with laptops and IPad. I’m not greedy. I operate only one acct.
And how did you make that? Oh right, recruitment.
Not a pyramid scheme my ass.
everything about helping hands hand is true.
they are mlm company though but legitimate, here you don’t have to purchase load of products to sell to people, just recruit people to help in giving aid to the needy and grow financially.
I have had lot of good Tims with them.
Uh yeah, totally sounds legit.
I feel very sick after reading this. red flags have been going on in my head as I was being told but greed almost got the best of me.
I thank God that I decided to research and pray. Thank you for your honesty.
Helping hands international is real my dear friends, we all know that its all about recruiting but i’m cool with it.
It pays faster than working for the government because if you build a team of active recruiting downlines recruiting new and new people then you can just rest and earn money as you want. (Ozedit: recruitment spam removed)
Whether you’re “cool” with recruitment-driven pyramid schemes is neither here nor there.
Wow, since 2013 helping hands international is not dead and it’s still paying people.
Someone keep castigating by calling it a scam here here while others are getting paid.
The author should go and learn the difference between MLM and pyramid scheme.
MLM is not an illegal business. So far it’s not scamming people i guess it’s ok.
Pyramid schemes are though. Sorry did you have a point in there somewhere?
Scams are scams from inception, not because you couldn’t find anyone to recruit.
wow! just because a pyramid scheme lasts two years, it’s a sign of legitimacy?
next you’ll be saying that the FTC/SEC haven’t stopped ‘helping hands’ and this is proof of its legitimacy too?
why don’t YOU learn the difference between MLM’s and pyramid schemes and come back? i would love to hear your arguments!
don’t just blather around. don’t indulge in meaningless jibber jabber. tell every body why helping hands is NOT a pyramid scheme.
MLM is the new trend of business in this century, ask Bill Gates, Forbes, Letterman and indeed any investment guru of our time.
MLM is legitimate. H2i is just 2 years old and you dont expect magic from them but a gradual pace of affecting lives positively and that is happening so far.
Untill SEC or the regulators say so, your opinion remains exactly that-your opinion which does not represent fact.
MLM is not a new trend, it’s been around for 40+ years.
Agreed.
Compensation plans aren’t “opinion”.
Should the regulators look into H2i, what do you think they’re going to look at?
They’ll look at the compensation plan and see the same recruitment commission compliant issues we did.
If you have to market you’re scheme on “we’re ok unless a regulator looks our way”, you’re obviously doing something you shouldn’t be.
Glad to hear you admit that MLM’s re legitimate.
That you called something a scam doesnt make it that except with fact. H2i is not promising what it is not doing. Evidence abound of their charity, empowerment and compensation/ incentive as promised on their website.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with recruitment commission when a law isnt violated or people defrauded.
Again, your personal opinion does not represent fact!
The facts are right there in the compensation plan.
Which is paying affiliates to recruit new affiliates using an MLM business model, which makes them a pyramid scheme.
Now you’re just talking out of your ass. Go educate yourself on MLM caselaw son.
What you’re actually doing is trying to dismiss established caselaw regarding recruitment and MLM by, in the absence of regulatory intervention, classifying it as an “opinion”.
Because y’know, that’s never been done before :rolleyes:.
There is no fact of it being a scam in the compensation plan.
One moment you agree MLM is legitimate, next moment you say its pyramid and illegal (make up your mind).
coupled with your lack of decorum by tending towards abusive language and insults on commentators on your site (a very deviant trait if there is one), since i wldnt want to be dragged into ur level of abusive language and insult on critiques, i will leave you to your opinion and not bother visiting this page.
cheers!
Paying affiliates to recruit new affiliates in MLM is a compliance issue.
If you’re trying to make excuses for pyramid schemes, sure.
What I actually agreed with is that MLM is legal. That is of course assuming retail sales are being made to retail customers.
Which in H2i they aren’t, because they instead pay affiliates to recruit new affiliates.
You think this is abusive? Son I’ve been nothing but a fount of endless patience with you.
Best of luck with the recruitment scamming.
And here’s a bit of trivia for you.
Neither the words “illegal” or “scam” appear anywhere in this review. You drew those conclusions entirely on your own and then proceeded to build a defensive discussion around them.
Funny how that works.
With the recent development i see in H2i investing in property for the members and offering 70% housing fund for properties that will appreciate with years, i think its metamorphosis is possible to avoid those who want to call a dog bad name to hang it.
What do you can the so called government (Ozedit: Offtopic derail attempts removed)
what will you call the so called religion (Ozedit: Offtopic derail attempts removed)
What does that have to do with paying a $40 fee and getting paid to recruit others who do the same?
PS. If you wish to discuss non-MLM entities, do it elsewhere.
Thought you said the websites were no longer active. I am beginning to doubt some reviews here. Not planning on joining helping hands but i will like all reviews and comments to be as sincere as possible.
By the way, i am a female from Nigeria also.
The main websites seem to be still active.
Since we don’t know which websites unwritten was referring to there’s no way to know whether they are active or not. Is there?
But what I found profoundly stupid is H2i advertising they made a trip to Dubai in 2015… for vacation. The whole idea of “profit from a charity” is ridiculous to start with. Charity spending money on a vacation for its members… even more so.
Helping hands International is good and will help everyone. its real, not scam.
That’s a pretty convincing argument right there.
You heard it here first folks, ignore Helping Hands International’s compensation plan and just take this guy’s word for it.
Is it not proper, if we desire to empower as many people as we can, that, instead of splashing holiday treats and ‘wonderful’ rewards on “Prime Ministers” and the like, that we actually channel these funds to help those who really need financial resources?
Ordinary widows, orphans, etc?
“Charity” here is just a facade to catch gullible members in our society to give away their moneys.
You’re not empowering people by sucking them into a recruitment scheme. You’re scamming them.
Regardless of your opinion of charity, it’s no excuse for a chain-recruitment scheme.
It’s an MLM alright, agreed. Pyramid scheme alright, agreed.
So they say they want to help charity and the only way they can do it is if people keep recruiting more people, and how do make sure they do that? By adding incentives is the answer.
The rewards for charity in this world is not a small issue. If from my $40 some child somewhere will get $1000, I will do this. But I will also do this because I want that car oo.
I don’t know why you’ll are arguing. I was expecting to see in the comments someone who H2i has already scammed and I’m still waiting to see.
Oz this woman that started this thing might be super rich right now from this, but also think about the kids that have gotten food and school fees for it.
I know you probably think I’ve been sucked it it and gullible and whatever. But I researched it and I found a few kids it helped.
Even if this woman doesn’t care about these children God does and He is using this to answer their prayers.
/facepalm
I u say h2i i a scam n u get your mouth but the truth is simple u can’t stop a moving train i love helping hand int
If you wish to discuss trains, do it elsewhere.
By virtue of its business model, Helping Hands International is a recruitment-driven pyramid scheme.
what is the total number of people that will register under me before i can get to prime minister
More than the population of Earth…
Hahahaha, some of these reviews are quite funny. However I know that without the incentives, you’ll hardly find enough persons who are willing to donate to any charity whatsoever.
Oz, you have a well argued point. That charity should not be a facade for scamming people. I agree. However H2I doesn’t do that. They offer members the chance to nominate a charity organization and then make a whopping $330000 dollars contribution to that charity.
Now would you look that poor child in the eye and ask him if he cares about the organizational pyramidal structure or cares about work ethics.
(Ozedit: Offtopic derail attempt removed)
Seeing fact and choosing to ignore. I haven’t joined the organization but I guess I will.
What they offer in addition to paying affiliates to recruit new affiliates is irrelevant.
And this is precisely why charity and MLM income opportunities don’t mix. You get people running around the internet promoting recruitment schemes with emotionally manipulative marketing.
And that’s all it really comes down to, isn’t it. Stuff and nonsense about charity and children, it’s just “show me the money!”
It always is.
Times are changing an some is trying to hold it back. MLM is the way out of cooperate world imagines soda company doing MLM.
They won’t need bill board and consumers will be happy of the products .Yes the old order of thing is self but a sustainable compensation plan will see to it is infinite even if not.
There are cooperate business that fold. MLM is gaining ground so keep collecting ur check from you sponsors and keep filing the simple minds with your cooperate reasons.
^^^ Yeah, so I don’t know what any of that has to do with a $40 pyramid scheme.
Put down the marketing kool-aid son.
Wow, I dnt know I hrd of h2i so I am making my research, I dnt even know again whether it is a scam or not.
the owner of this website should be nicer.. pls educate me more how is it against the mlm law and I have my reputation on the line if it is a scam..
I am a Nigerian if u have made money tell me and if they have scammed you pls report.. thank u.
Recruitment-driven pyramid schemes = illegal.
Whether you’ve made money or not in a scam is irrelevant in analysis of whether or not an MLM opportunity is a scam.
If you are in the Philippines, you should be asking DSAP.ph
NOLINK://www.dsap.ph/the-industry/how-to-differentiate-a-legitimate-direct-selling-company-from-pyramiding-using-the-8-point-test.html
Whatever may have been said about H2i, I have carefully followed a friend who is registered since last year (with doubt in my mind)but over the period, he has not only been paid even over $1,000, he has received more than six laptops and this month of May, his brand new car was delivered to him.
I saw it. I wish I could post the photo. They were six persons in Warri, Nigeria who got the car. And this is not the first set of delivery in Nigeria.
@Collinto
Whether your Nigerian prince friend successfully scammed people out of $1000 in a pyramid scheme is neither here nor there.
HHI has no retail and only pays commissions on the recruitment of new affiliates.
I believe H2i is real and not a pyramid as you have put it.
I am a registered member and I have seen people earn. How can a pryamid scheme as you call it have sponsors known worldwide? Eg. Hyundai Motors, Apple and HP among others?
1. You’re full of shit.
2. Having “sponsors” doesn’t make you any less of a pyramid scheme. Paying affiliates to recruit new affiliates does.
Do you even have PROOF that they are real sponsors? Other than claims from your upline? Did you see a corporate check? Did you verify with those companies?
Or perhaps, you were merely lied to and you’re simply repeating the lies because you cannot believe they are lies?
Mr oz stop being anti mlm u need to face d reality. H2i is never a pyramid scheem, u need to know the real definition of a pyramid scheme mr oz.
H2i has 5 services they rendered, so this makes them non pyramid scheme. Pyramid scheme is When a product or services are not exchanged in a business.
So bro, stop shying away from the truth and embrace the fact, i am a member of H2i, I know more than you when it comes to H2i.
I have seen a downline overtook his upline in H2i this doesn’t happen in a pyramid scheme…. in a pyramid scheme you only work for the people at the top. H2i Rocks!
False. Pyramid schemes pay affiliates to recruit new affiliates. What is attached to that is irrelevant.
False.
False.
Yeah… clearly.
Thanks Mr Oz for this well-written, objective and timely piece about H2i. I want to thank and commend you for your efforts at unearthing the truth and presenting it just as it is.
The only pity is that people will always see what they want to see.
I am a proud Nigerian but I always knew there was something ‘OFF’ about H2i when I was first approached about the scheme.
The first thing that caught my eye was that for a company that claims to be a multi-billion dollar entity, the promotional materials looked somehow odd and inferior: from the flyers to the website and all, it looked as if some newbie out of design school had done the design.
Secondly, their altruistic claims about doing “charity” and making money while doing it seemed counterintuitive (or should I say ironical).
Also the pedigree of the so-called directors and the address of the firm (both its global headquarters in the philippines and its Nigerian Head Office) seemed whimsical (as if it was hurriedly cobbled-up and put together for the purpose of publicity/marketing).
Then when I was told that I could game the system by having multiple accounts under ficitious names so that I could receive the rewards faster, I knew something was up.
But the final straw was when i asked questions about the financial fundamentals of the company i.e balance sheet, cash reserves, profit and loss statement, Amount disbursed til date, amount received and all that (in essence, how the company planned to continue fulfilling its obligations) and all the responses were obscure, non-coherent and obfuscatory (like they were trying to hide something).
If you ask any of the members about these facts, they dont know or try to dodge by reeling off answers like
*”How can a pyramid scheme as you call it have sponsors known worldwide? Eg. Hyundai Motors, Apple and HP among others?”
*Are the cars and gifts not genuine?
*If you really want something, you don’t need to ask too much questions? (Yes, someone actually told me that)
*This one is different (aren’t they all?)
and all sorts…
Your responses to all the objections have just been perfect and on-point (as my naija folks would say) but Let me just repeat it again for emphasis “A SCAM IS A SCAM IS A SCAM and will always be a SCAM NO MATTER HOW WELL-INTENTIONED IT MAY SEEM”.
Anyway, he who has hears let him hear… I just feel pity for my nigerian brothers and sisters who are getting carried away by this sophisticatedly-packaged insidious scam…
@Mr. Cheidu
Thanks for the support. Your experience with HHI is indicative of what happens when someone who can correctly identify the scheme is approached for recruitment.
You’re not their mark, you asked too many questions.
@oz thanks for comprehensively stating the facts, here is my story:
I have a friend who has been into all kinds of network marketing in the past 10 year. When ever he finds a new pyramid scheme which he calls mlm he boast so much about it but when it fails like it will always do to the people who they say didn’t enter early.
Excuses flow with same intesity with which he used to boast about the same (ps).
On the issue of HHI, on a sunday evening in 2013 after church service i went to his house with two of my friend who also see me as an anti-mlmer (pyramid scheme). He set up a projector brought out his laptop in his words (emphatically guys we need to make money this program is the best out there refering to HHI), mention all the travelling to dubai, car gift.
In my mind i’m like, bros has come again, i wondered why somebody would talk about charity and make money off it.
again here i go in my mind there are many charity organisation in my country nigeria, why can’t i just go there and donate.
as a christian it’s against the very essence of charity or giving. it didn’t work for him not to talk about numerous (ps) he has gotten into to date, G.h.a, R.i.i.a.b and now he and some of his friends have created a new Pyramid scheme called MAVIGOLD CHARITIES INTERNATIONAL.
based on recruiting members with entry fee of 2000 naira only, he boasts of how he will soon be driving his jeep, that i should better join now o. but i have made him know that i’m not interested in (ps) you’ve enlighted me more on the topic thanks, Hope to see more aticles from you.
@maxwell
Thanks for the support! I’ve added Mavigold Charities to the review list.
hello there, just wondering. if h2i is a pyramid scheme….what do u say about companies, like apple, hp and hyundai that are partnering with them? are they all supporting the pyramid scheme?/
1. You provide no proof to back up your claims.
2. Legitimacy by association doesn’t work. Paying recruitment commissions makes Heling Hands a pyramid scheme, not who they are or aren’t partnered with.
I stopped bothering myself trying to convince people that most of these ventures are nothing but pyramid schemes. I remember stumbling on a site like this (I don’t know if it was this one) a few years ago when i was trying to dig up information about telexfree in order to convince my friend not to join it.
He did join it, had two different separate accounts and was actually making good money. Telexfree later crashed and so did the money he had trapped there which he usually accumulates before requesting for a payout.
It is better for people to learn about these things the hard way. Before i left Nigeria February this year, so many of these schemes had sprung up and still springing up.
My fellow Nigerians never listen and only prefer to learn the hard way. Well, I don’t blame them either; most have this stupid attitude of ‘Join Now, Ask Questions Later’.
It’s a google search on this Helpinghandsinternational (h2i) that brought me here, and I am really sad that too many people are not only falling for it, they are also defending it.
This company is supported by Hyundai, hp, gac motors, apple and others! Why wwud a scam be supported by reputable companies?
Because it’s not. Herp derp.
You call up Hyundai, Gac Motors, Apple “and others” and ask them if they’ve heard of Helping Hands International. Let us know how that goes.
How many people have been scammed by h2i? Anyone here? h2i has been around for roughly 7 or 8 years do they last that long them scams?
Anyone who joined it and didn’t scam others to recoup their $40 payment.
Domain registered in 2013 so you’re full of crap.
80% of traffic to the HHI website today is from Nigeria, so it’s only the princes holding it up.
So this scam has been around for 3 yrs and no body is saying anything? The Nigerian police, interpol etc
Scammers in scams don’t complain unless the scheme collapses. By then of course it’s too late.
Lol.
i got to know about this recently… I will only accept ths offer, only if the person telling me about pays for me, then I pay him back from my profit… even double.
I know of a widow who received $1,000 from Helping Hands International.
A 5 year old boy by name Abraham Omonigho was attacked by 2 vicious dogs…. He required surgery and his father could not afford it. LUTH asked them to deposit over 2 million Naira…It was Helping Hands International who stepped in and flew him to India and absorbed his medical bills.
Why am I saying this? They are really helping people…. What about some politicians who do not care about the poor, they loot our resources and ship money to swiss banks overseas. Helping Hands International supports a cause like they promised.
They also train their partners for free by putting them through skills acquisition trainings like bead making, soap making, Ankara Craft, Soap, paint making, fish, snail and poultry farming, makeup to mention but a few.
One Okada driver in Lagos is now a distributor of paint in Lagos. He got it from the training he received from Helping Hands International. The registration fee is actually 6600 Naira (about $15).
Note that you can easily pay 5,000 Naira just to learn a skill, so learning all those skills for just 6600 naira is quite a steal. Thank you
What Helping Hands International does or doesn’t do outside of the MLM opportunity is irrelevant.
Helpings Hands International, by virtue of it’s business model, is a cash gifting scam.
because you are full of shit.
Whip, looking at your comment, I cannot help but observe how rude and demeaning you sound.
I believe I have not said anything to warrant such degrading comment. I only aired my views and I am not imposing it on anyone. Please accord some respect. Thank you.
To some people, trying to justify a cash gifting scam by hiding behind token charity is pretty offensive.
Oz, my point is that they are helping out the less privileged. Something that the government hasn’t done. At the end of the day, people’s lives are being affected positively.
Oz, but I believe telling me that I’m full of shut isn’t nice either. Or do you think otherwise?
(Don’t want to type the word because I consider it very offensive)
You’re using charity to justify financial fraud through a cash gifting scheme, that’s pretty offensive.
By all means participate in charity but don’t do it through a scam and then attempt to justify the scam through association.
There is also the possibility that you might very well be “full of shit”, that is to say making it up. You certainly wouldn’t be the first scammer to invent personal anecdotes to promote fraud.
PS. To claim someone is “full of shit” isn’t so much a personal insult as it is an accusation of lies.
Oz, I’m pretty sure it was you who wrote that. If you were proud of it, why did you use another name?
Now that’s a good example of being “full of shit”.
Yeah, you were probably lying about the other stuff too.
Yeah, just like you’re “pretty sure” Helping Hands is a legitimate charity and not a (poorly) disguised cash gifting scheme.
You’re not having a very good day, are you ???
And what’s stopping non-poor people from joining and getting money?
It’s not a charity. If you don’t see that fact you need to get checked in the head.
i have read your comments since 2014-2016, one thing is clear some people joined and benefited …..some are here being paronoid.
i want some one who signed up got scammed to present his case here then we can conclude.
A scam still paying out is still a scam.
As per it’s business model, HHI is a $40 a pop pyramid scheme. The only people ignoring that are those doing the scamming.
My own stance is that all mlm are pyramid schemes as the marketing strategy employed by companies having a mlm plan for its sales force is to compensate them not only for sales they generate, but also for the sales of the other salespeople that they recruit.
These mlm models always place more emphasis on recruitment of others over actual sales, exaggerated compensation schemes to entice and lure, the top distributors and directors making major money and another thing is the criticism and lawsuits that do trail them.
H2i is just like other NGOs around…No NGO can exist without adequate funds.
The only reason why networking dimension is implored into the organization is to get more funds to keep carrying out the humanitarian services… because there’s a stage you reach whereby you will be told to recommend at least two less privileges and they will be given FREE $2000 to start life after investigating if they are truly in need…
these people are not members nor does the $2000 comes from your pocket!..This is one of the place the donation of $40 is been channeled to.
if you just donated without sharing the vision with people around to come and donate as well…. you won’t be entitled to any earnings or awards… you will only have the privilege of learning any type of skill acquisition you so wish…. for free.
(Ozedit: recruitment spam removed)
False. Helping Hands International is a pyramid scheme, it has nothing to do with NGOs.
Because it’s at the core of its pyramid scheme business model.
Ripping people off in a pyramid scheme is not “humanitarian services”.
Donations don’t entitle you to earnings. Enough with the pseudo-compliance bullshit, you’re not fooling anyone.
So you say h2i is a scam?
Is it legal in india? Or do we have to face any consequences if we join helping hands.
Pyramid schemes are illegal all over the world.
I’d be more worried about retaliation from the people you scam.
Not a pyramid scheme in the traditional sense
(Ozedit: Snip. Traditionally or otherwise, paying affiliates to recruit new affiliates in MLM = pyramid scheme.)
Oh my, your first article was in May 29th , 2014, and H2i is still up and running THREE YEARS LATER.. i guess this is the best scam ever HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA
Not the Helping Hands International I reviewed, website domain has long expired.
Besides, pyramid schemes exist for as long as gullible suckers such as yourself sign up to them. Evidently there’s plenty of gullible suckers in Africa…
Oz, trying to educate the vast number of uninformed, misinformed people in Africa is usually a total waste of time, and after reading all the responses (or should I say uninformed remarks and rationalizations that a number of them have proferred), now you know what I deal with over here.
Half the time the education being imparted, which includes overviews on what makes a program an illegal Ponzi or pyramid scheme, case studies, an explanation of various criteria that regulators use to determine if a program is an illegal Ponzi/pyramid scheme, etc., an analysis of a particular program applying the above, the education either goes in one ear and out the other, or they want to argue, despite they fact that they have very little to no experience in the industry, little to no knowledge of the industry, how to evaluate a program and its pay plan, and absolutely zero knowledge regarding regulatory compliance and the legal end of the industry.
I’ve never been anywhere in the world where people who know less, want to argue with more experts, than Africa…
I guess Nietzsche, the famous German philosopher, put it best: “Sometimes people don’t want to hear the truth because they don’t want their illusions destroyed!”