Sergei Mavrodi – Criminal or Genius?

In the time when the USSR collapsed, people (and I mean a lot of people) didn't know the concept of a scam... so they easily trusted this person...

Exactly. It's just that those who trusted this scoundrel were the first casualties on a minefield. The rest, of course, having seen the victims, became wiser.

You, Moor, go tell the pensioners about Mavrodi's genius, those who were trying to survive against the backdrop of a collapsing economy and completely insane inflation and bought shares. Just bring your documents with you, otherwise they might not be able to identify the body from the fragments.:smile04:

After all, there was even an advertisement for it on television. If it's shown on TV, it means it's approved by the state, and everything is fine there! That's why so many people trusted it.

Moreover, MMM's advertisement was on the "time signal" service, i.e., the automated time service! A person dials 100, and before the time signal, they hear the following message: "MMM share price: today, MMM shares are worth ... rubles, yesterday they were worth ... rubles." The price, of course, was increasing. I wonder how many of today's smart people would be able to resist such brainwashing.

By the way, let's acknowledge the Russian state as the most "genius" scammer. Let's remember the 1998 default.

Added 5 minutes later

In general, Mavrodi is a smart person. He played on people's greed. People are to blame themselves. No one forced them to buy MMM shares.

Indeed, there is no limit to human stupidity. And are you aware that in the USA and Europe, many people live off the income from stocks? Only there can people afford to pay for the services of a stockbroker who will advise them that it is worth investing money in oil (for example), and not in thin air (as in the case of MMM).
And by putting money in a bank and receiving interest, aren't you also looking for an easy way to make money? And when choosing a bank to keep your money in, do you have inside information about the bank's reliability? But if the bank disappears tomorrow with all the deposits, including your hard-earned money, there will be just as many smart people as you, and they will say about you: it's your own fault, greed ruined you.

P.S. And in general, keep your money in mittens. :smile54: