"Community Based" means that they are taking new investors' capital to pay off old investors who are withdrawing. "Lending" means that they are removing your money to pay for someone else's "profits. Of course, then they have to pay you back, so they pay back "interest" from the next wave of investors, which is why they reward referrals so heavily. Just make sure you get out when they show signs of running out of capital, such as temporarily suspending withdrawals.