Pakistanis have allegedly lost billions of rupees to fraudulent investment applications using identical pyramid schemes under different names. The recent collapses include names such as Treasure NFT, B4U Global, IDA App, PSlash, and HFC wiping out life savings of thousands of families nationwide.
The scams became a highlight on X when a thread tried to spread awareness about the exploit. Behavioral finance experts call this scam “affinity fraud”, where victims trust recommendations from relatives and friends rather than conducting independent due diligence on unregistered platforms.
Treasure NFT collapsed in March 2025 after blocking withdrawal requests from investors who deposited an estimated $143.8 million during an Eid promotion promising to double initial $100 investments. The platform advertised daily returns of 2% while operating a referral-based revenue model resembling a pyramid scheme. Victims reported taking loans to invest after seeing profit screenshots shared by family members. Reports indicate the platform lacked legal registration with Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and vanished entirely after accumulating hundreds of millions of rupees from users across the country.
B4U Global represented one of Pakistan’s largest investment frauds before its 2021 collapse. National Accountability Bureau investigations revealed a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of approximately Rs10.86 billion through promises of 7% to 20% monthly returns. The Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled in March 2022 that B4U Global constituted a pyramid scheme designed to defraud the public. NAB discovered 57 bank accounts used to collect money from investors, with 26 accounts registered in names of the accused, his wives, and son. Authorities placed the management of the company under Exit Control List and seized company accounts.
PSlash scam caused losses exceeding Rs5.6 billion in 2020 while operating through a similar multi-level marketing structure promising unrealistic returns. Industry analysts noted these platforms follow identical patterns: aggressive social media marketing, tiered referral systems heavily dependent on recruiting new investors, vague explanations of profit generation mechanisms, and ultimate collapse when withdrawal requests exceed incoming deposits. SECP issued repeated warnings against unauthorized investment schemes but enforcement challenges persist as new platforms emerge using cryptocurrency, NFTs, and artificial intelligence terminology to attract technologically inexperienced investors.
Netizens took to X to vent their frustrations. A user wrote:
Sir
More than apps, Pakistanis have lost billions of money in fake property investment schemes
You need to focus that
How to be sure if the company is lying or not? If it can be trusted or not?
More importantly awareness is required about the SPA (Sale purchase agreement) 1/2— Dr Raza (@DrRaza041032805) May 9, 2026
Another user mocked:
When there are no practical investment opportunities and the stock market is manipulated for the benefot of 7 fat ass elephants and ever rising inflation coupled with no enforcement, well this is the best atmosphere for fraudsters and their protectors.
— IndoPakCanvas (@najaf14578) May 9, 2026
The psychological mechanism behind affinity fraud makes these schemes particularly devastating compared to traditional scams. Victims do not trust anonymous online promoters. They trust close relatives, childhood friends, workplace colleagues, and community members who themselves have been deceived by earlier returns.
Financial literacy experts emphasized that affinity fraud exploits social bonds rather than individual greed. Early investors often receive legitimate payouts funded by deposits from later recruits, creating authentic success stories that spread through social networks. Friends show profit screenshots to relatives. Cousins convince cousins. Colleagues demonstrate withdrawal confirmations to workplace contacts. By the time platforms collapse, entire extended families and social circles have invested, with even the initial promoters losing their reinvested funds during the final implosion.
SECP maintains a public list of unregistered entities raising unauthorized deposits from Pakistani citizens. The commission warned the public not to invest in schemes offering guaranteed returns exceeding market rates or requiring recruitment of additional investors for profit maximization.
However, regulatory enforcement remains limited as scammers operate through social media platforms, encrypted messaging applications, and word-of-mouth marketing that circumvents traditional advertising channels monitored by authorities.
