pyramid selling
noun [ U ]
COMMERCE ukus(also pyramid scheme [ C ])a way of making money, illegal in many places, in which someone sells people the right to sell a company's products. These people then sell the right to others, and this continues until many people have bought the right, with the original seller getting a share of every payment:
pyramid selling scheme/scam What seemed like a legitimate business turned out to be just another pyramid selling scheme.
While pyramid selling or multi-level marketing could be legitimate activities, schemes offering income for recruitment offer scope for abuse.