<prompt> Human: As the title says, I think my sister-in-law is involved in a pyramid scheme ItWorks. I tried explaining to her that it was a bad idea but she wont listen. I think if I rephrase my argument from a strictly personal finance perspective, it might be easier for her to understand. That said, I want to arm myself with knowledge before approaching her. Has anyone been through this or know someone who has? If so, how did things work out? What are you thoughts? Thanks in advance!  <response>: Knew an otherwise smart guy, an airline pilot, who brought a dinner party to a halt years ago with a sudden fervent pyramid scheme MLM pitch. He was wholly convinced hed be getting 60k in the mail within a few months. Another guest and I brought his pitch to a halt by sketching the pyramid he was talking about on the back of a napkin and adding some numbers. We proved that for the guy to score the payoff he was talking about, the fifth or sixth tier from the top of the pyramid basically had to involve everyone on earth. The math never works; the pyramid always collapses. Try drawing the pyramid for your SIL. Pilot not happy BTW. 