The British government was last night urged in the Commons to outlaw an "invidious" money-investment pyramid scheme said to have cost women across the UK thousands of pounds.
The call came from Labour's Anne Begg (Aberdeen S), opening a short debate.
She said that despite warnings not to take part in the "Women Empowering Women" scheme, many have handed over up to Stg£3,000 in the hope of getting far more in return.
The money is handed over as a "gift" and investors are then required to recruit more "gifters" until they move up the scale and receive a £24,000 payout.
But supply of participants in an area soon dries up leaving them with no chance of getting the bigger sum or their money back.
The scheme, believed to have arrived in the Isle of Wight from the US before spreading nationwide, has been "rampaging" through Aberdeen since the summer, Ms Begg (Aberdeen S) told the Commons.
She said the women, often those who could least afford the loss, were sucked into the scheme after being told they could not lose, in order to get some extra cash for Christmas.
Suggesting the scheme should be renamed "Women Defrauding Women", she questioned why legislation outlawing pyramid selling was not being used to stop the scheme.
Certain US states had made it illegal to even take part in the "complete fraud", she said, calling for action.
Junior trade and industry minister Nigel Griffiths said the British government was concerned about the risks and appealed to people not to be fooled by any "something for nothing" offers.
He said strong warnings had been issued during the summer by the British government and trading standards officers but that sadly many people had ignored them.
The money-based schemes were not covered by anti-pyramid selling legislation because they did not involve trading in goods or services, effectively operating as a form of chain letter, he said.
In all their promotional material, the people behind it had been careful not to promise any return and the police had not been given any evidence for a prosecution under fraud laws, he added.
Promising to look at the US ban and to do everything possible to protect people from such schemes, he said the situation would be looked at as part of a shake-up of the UK's gambling rules.
PA