It happens fast and creates a huge sense of urgency, especially considering the announcements are posted ephemerally. The credibility of Venmo adds a sense of legitimacy to confused teens, which makes it dangerous for kids who might ordinarily think they’re aware of scams and how to avoid them.

The app is instantaneous and public by default (though you can make any of your transactions private, and the actual monetary value is always private), so anyone scrolling through their Venmo feed will see a bunch of exciting looking payments back and forth, which may prompt some to jump in on the action for fear of missing out.

It’s also essentially proving to kids that the process “works” because they’re seeing all their friends getting paid. Pyramid schemes are sketchy, but guys omg, this thing actually works, see?

The trend has been picking up speed over the last few weeks. My colleague, Danielle and I, could only find examples on Instagram stories but it’s entirely possible that it’s spreading on Snapchat too and we just don’t have the right friends.

So what’s the problem?

Well, it’s illegal. And when the hype dies down, there will be a lot of disappointed buyers (in multiples of eight, lol) who collectively can’t find enough people to push them to the top of the pyramid. It also asks the question whether the thrill of playing the game will outweigh any losses to some players, which is scary in itself.