罗湖警方拘留了三名犯罪嫌疑人，涉嫌通过传销骗取66名老人约20万元。请看本报昨日的报道：

    Three suspects were under criminal detention in Nanhu Police Station in Luohu District for having allegedly swindled 66 seniors out of about 200,000 yuan (US$29,940) by luring them to invest in their pyramid scheme, the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

    During a routine patrol around communities in the Nanhu area Sept. 1, police officers noticed that a number of senior residents were gathering at a Cantonese restaurant on the third floor of Yuehai Hotel to listen to speeches by several speakers.

    报道中的pyramid scheme就是“传销”。传销指通过发展“下线”而不是销售产品和服务盈利的一种商业模式，鉴别传销重要依据是其奖金制度是否采用金字塔分配模式。1998年4月，中国政府宣布全面禁止传销。