IT beggars belief that there are people in this information-driven, sophisticated 21st Century world who will fall for the kind of craze sweeping Worcestershire.

But, of course, there are. And, human nature being what it is, there always will be. Inevitably, the hard luck stories and warnings aren't far behind.

Like all pyramid-selling scams, Women Empowering Women plays on a number of susceptibilities - desperation, greed or simple naivety that there's such a thing as easy money.

At its most mammoth scale, as Albania proved in the 90s, it can drag an entire nation to rock-bottom as dreams of quick-riches turn nightmarishly black.

At its smallest, it can send trapped investors in search of credit cards or bank loans they can't afford, and persuade many that the hope of a fast buck should come before friendship.

Viewed from the closest of ranges, it isn't hard to see where that ends up.

If pyramid-selling wasn't sinister enough, though, this one masquerades behind the promise that "sisters are doing it for themselves".

If participants really want to foster the idea that more women take control of their lives - and help make it happen - there are hundreds of ways to do it without sending cash up the line. Anything else is exploitation.

Before any of us start staking a claim to the moral high ground, though, let's acknowledge that the frailties which mark people out as victims are somewhere in all of us. And we probably all know someone who's a potential victim, if not one already.

The lucky ones are those who move in early and quickly underpin their investment via a group of eight dreamers beneath.

The rest aren't so fortunate. At best, you could accuse them of being vulnerable or desperate. At worst, they're gullible.

In truth, the best yardstick in life applies: If something sounds to good to be true, that's because it is.