ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Protection racket

Hi there!

Have you ever heard of a playground bully who goes around asking other kids for money, and says that if they don't give it to him, something bad might happen to them? Well, a protection racket is kind of like that, but with grown-ups and businesses.

Sometimes, there are groups of people who want to make money without doing a lot of work, so they might go to a store owner and say, "Hey, we'll protect your store from any bad guys or thieves, but you have to pay us money every week." The store owner might feel scared or threatened if they don't pay, so they keep paying the money even if they don't want to.

But here's the thing: those "protectors" might not actually protect the store at all! They might just be pretending, or they might even be the ones who would otherwise cause trouble. So the store owner is basically paying for nothing, and the "protectors" are just getting free money without doing any real work.

That's basically what a protection racket is like – it's when someone demands money in exchange for protection or safety, but they might not actually provide any real protection at all. It's not fair or honest, and it's not something you should do. Always remember to be kind and fair to others!