Hearing a friend in an MLM claim "you're not supporting me" is common, and it's an ideology that's pushed by the companies themselves, Brands explains. "[It's] this idea that if people want to support you, then they’ll pay for this product that they probably don’t want anyway, and I can think of no other circumstance in a friendship where we will create that conditionality." Spending £30 on a pair of leggings may seem like a nominal sum for supporting a friend but the more members of a friendship group who get involved in the MLM, the more 'supporting' one will have to do. MLMs are attractive to women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and it's easy to see how they can cause financial tension among friends. "If you don’t have many opportunities," says Dr Brands, "when someone comes along and says 'I can make you rich and you’ve got everything you need to succeed' then, of course, that looks very attractive."