HYIP Investments. HYIP Programs. Make sure that you know what you're up to

Beware of scam

So, you are tempted to make some HYIP investments? Beware of scam! All HYIP programs, no matter how good it seems they perform today, will scam someday.

I know the saying that not all HYIP programs will scam, or “only” 99% of HYIP programs will scam, or even “only” 99.9999% of them. I believed it as a beginner. Honestly, that gave me illusion that I would someday and somehow find the 1%-not-scamming programs, an illusion that eventually cost me, and countless other investors, big amount of money.

But I know better today. From my own experience, and from observing others’ experience, I can surely say now that ALL, 100% - NOT 99% NOR 99.9999% - HYIP programs are scam.

It’s just a matter of time until the program owner thinks that he has already got enough money from his “investors” before he shuts down his website and opens (an)other scamming program(s)! And you might again become one of his “investors” in his new program(s) unless you stop dreaming and start controlling your greed. Why? Because all HYIP programs are made to scam. And there is practically no way you could be sure about who is behind any HYIP programs.

Against these fraudulent schemes, The U.S. Security and Exchange Commission had issued a Warning to All Investors About Bogus “Prime Bank” and Other Banking-Related Investment Schemes saying that the fraud artists often mislead people into thinking that well regarded and financially sound institutions are behind their bogus programs while in fact they are not.

In another article about how the frauds work, The SEC lists some signs of those fraudulent schemes including excessive guaranteed returns and, fictitious financial instrument and exclusiveness. The article can be read here.

Yes, some HYIP investments websites may display identities in their “About Us” page, and you can even check via Whois about who registered the domain name and such. But, unless you have real good connection with CIA or Mossad - or the Russian mob :) - there is practically no way to verify if the information were true, let alone to chase him to get your money back once he had run away with your hard-earned money. So, once you pour your money into any of such programs, you are at the mercy of a scammer who, naturally, will not have any mercy at all because stealing your money is his ultimate goal.

Beware of greed

I know, you want to put your money in the so called HYIP investments because of the ultra-high interest rate offered. No banks nor any other legal financial institution can offer such high interests. Beware of greed! Trust me, greed would never get you anywhere but broke.

But if you insist and want to give it a try, let me warn you before you go on: there is no such thing as HYIP investments. Putting money in such HYIP investments, no matter how good the programs' presentation and how professional their websites' look, or even how long they have been around, is very risky. You could lose your money anytime.

In fact, the word "investment" in HYIP (High Yield Investment Program) is very misleading and should not be there. Why? Because basically, any HYIP program you can find in the internet is not, and never will be, an investment opportunity. FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) even had devised an intriguing alternative to the standard longer form of HYIP. To educate people, FINRA calls HYIP as "Hazardous to Your Investment Portfolio" in their July 2010 news release.

Although there is always a possibility that initially a HYIP program authored by, for instance, an “honest” forex trader who is looking for fresh money to trade - with a sincere intention to share the profits to his investors - such thing is a rarity. Even when you could find such “noble” HYIP program owner, who can guarantee that he would not be tempted to steal all the money put in his program later when there were already a great sum of money in his account, or when somehow he experienced difficulties to keep his promises paying high interests to all his investors?

After all, a really experienced and well-reputed forex trader would not have any difficulties finding investors. People rush to hand their money to ones that they know for sure would return them big profits. Only amateurs would create a HYIP program to collect money to trade.

Ponzi schemes

All HYIP programs are nothing more than ponzi-schemes: paying one member from subsequent members' money and so forth. Thus, the interest you get from a HYIP program is basically taken from other members’ money who join the program after you. You might be in profit, but your profit was at the expense of others! It’s not a real business when everybody can have a win-win position. In fact, it’s not a business at all. There is no such thing as investment in the so called “HYIP investments”.

I'd rather say that putting money into the so-called HYIP investments as a gambling rather than an investment. When you put your money into HYIP programs, you are gambling about when the website owner will leave and scam his "investors". If he did not leave until your "investment" matured (and you have been able to draw it into your e-currency account), then you're the lucky one and can consider yourself as winning the gamble, at the expense of other members, of course. But if not, then you're the loser and you had better forget about the money and go on with your life! And about the owner of the HYIP programs? Well, he is the real winner who will keep most of the money stored into his programs’ accounts for himself!

But if you still insist and want to give it a try after all these warnings, let me give you an advice: Never ever spend your money - in any HYIP program – more than you can afford to lose!