Legitimacy of ‘Secret Sister’ gift exchange raises concerns

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — A viral Facebook post promising a bounty of gifts could potentially leave users empty-handed.

Secret Sisters, an online gift exchange trending on social media, starts with one person posting and inviting six friends to participate in the exchange.

But despite its popularity, many people such as Deana Mangelsen are skeptical about the exchange, believing it may be a scam.

“That does sound a lot like a pyramid scheme or a chain letter,” Mangelsen said. “I’m not a fan of chain letters, definitely not a pyramid scheme, so I would definitely try to shy away from it.”

Snopes, a scam-alert site, first posted about the exchange in October 2015 after people reported the post was a pyramid scheme. While that is a possibility, some people continue to enjoy the exchange with the people they know.

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