High Yield Investment Program

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High Yield Investment Program, or HYIP, is a purported investment program normally offered via the Internet. HYIPs typically accept investments of $500 or less while promising high returns. No HYIP has, as yet, survived for very long without turning out to be a scam. HYIPs are Ponzi schemes, in which new investors (usually unwittingly) provide the cash to pay a profit to existing investors, which they typically then withdraw leaving nothing to pay the new investor. This approach allows the scam to continue as long as new investors are found and/or old investors leave their money in the scheme, known as compounding (because even higher profits are promised). HYIPs are frequently advertised in HYIP monitors (see below), spam emails, forums, mailing lists and Google AdWords. People are typically given a commission (for example, 9% of invested funds) when they provide a referral of a new customer. HYIPs typically are not based in places such as the United States, western Europe, or Japan - which have strong enforcement against unregistered investment opportunities. Most HYIPs disclose little or no detail about the underlying management, location, or other aspects of how money is to be invested, and relatively little information (other than asserting that they do various types of trading on various stock and other exchanges) on how they actually generate the returns they purport. They are sometimes presented with some form of an emotional appeal, appeals for faith, and promises that they will help investors achieve financial freedom. Arguably, the largest HYIP scam that has existed on the internet was PIPS (People in Profit System or Pure Investors)[1][2]. The investment scheme was started by Bryan Marsden in early 2004, (according to the Wayback Machine record of http://pureinvestor.com) and spanned more than 20 countries. PIPS was investigated by Bank Negara Malaysia in 2005 which resulted in Marsden and his wife being charged in a Malaysian court with 97 counts of money laundering involving more than RM77 million - US$20 million - (copy of New Straits Times article dated 11 Oct 2006). The introduction of e-currencies has made it possible for HYIPs to operate on the internet and cross international boundaries, and to accept large numbers of small investments. HYIPs usually accept e-gold, e-bullion, INTGold, and until Feburary 2006, StormPay.