Participating in HYIP is supporting crime?

Think. Not one business can guarantee money for you especially if they claim to work in the Forex industry. It sounds like a gold mine but you cannot know when it will roll down the curtains and run. They would tell you that these sites get money like that. But where is the rock solid proof for that? They heard from someone whose reliable friend seen others talking about it? Your friends might earn well if they're aware of the sign of the closure of such programs and leave before they lose their money. But in the end, if the program cannot prove its source of income - and most of them can't - we are standing at the very start. Is it stealing or investing?

For now, I would say it is investing. If they do decide to shut down there operations and make a run for our money then clearly it is stealing. My friends are earning now and I am hoping I would too in the future. Maybe we just have to be prepared for anything. It might be good now but it will not stay that way forever. As far as making money with HYIP is concerned, I say that we would never know until it happens. Whatever it is thou, I am hopeful that it is for the better.

It is for you to decide. For my part, as long as it stands an illegal activity concerned by several US agencies I do hold my opinion. Truth to be told, people won't accept it otherwise than losing money. If they're gaining profit with these programs they won't bother themselves with such moral or legal issues.

For example, the admin of the recently closed SureFireSurf.com named Christopher Linton - if ti was his real name at all - admitted that his program has no income source, the money paid out as profit is the money the new investors paid in. Almost none of these programs are having any income other than new members money. Some claim that they put the money in Forex tradin but the fatal flaw comes when they guarantee the profit. So, if they have no other source....the money you might get as profit is taken from someone else. Literally, it is YOU who steal it, these programs only let you do it. Investing in these programs maybe beneficial but think again how you gained that money. The FBI had 1000 new HYIP cases on desk in Sept 2010. Think about it.

All hyips are Ponzie schemes. There is no investment. Money is scuffled in the account. So my investment becomes your payout. They are all set up for failure and eventually they will shut down. Forget them. If you haven't lost money yet, you will. It's just a matter of time.

So true. Everyone learns the lash on his own skin. But there are forums like MMG and Talkgold filled with cheerleaders who get a good cut on these programs and walking off with the money and calling stupid those whose money it was. Recently I just reported such a guy on MMG.

No, I wouldn't be for legalizing HYIPs as they are now because they are simply perpetrating fraud. Any HYIP that says it is buying oil or stocks or investing in forex to give daily returns of 1% is simply lying to lure investors and that's unacceptable and criminal. However, it seems like there is a base of HYIP fanatics who fully realize what HYIPs are but nonetheless think they can outwit the HYIP admins by knowing the right time to cash out their profits and indeed some claim to earn a regular income this way. While I think many, if not most, of these people are if not outright lying at least exaggerating their successes, I don't have a problem with people gambling their money if they realize the odds are against them. I don't see it as theft if people know there's a good chance they won't get their money back, but HYIPs certainly shouldn't be allowed to make promises they have no intention of even trying to keep. Let them say, "This is a high yield ponzi scheme. You might make some money, you might not. You'll earn this rate of interest until we shut down, at which point no further payments will be made and all accounts will be zeroed." Some TalkGold members and others will still invest even under those circumstances -- I say let them do so! Practically speaking, it's really hard to shut down the HYIP industry because new HYIP sites are propping up constantly. They are based all over the world and run by people who are deeply interested in being difficult to track down. So, for instance, it's difficult for a defrauded Brit to seek recourse when he's been cheated by a site officially based in Panama and run by Argentines and Russians. Virtually every investigation into a HYIP would have to be an international one requiring the cooperation of multiple governments. No wonder most HYIP scammers never face justice! Hopefully as more international attention is focused on computer crime this will change. I see the current situation as more of a product of poor enforcement and poor international cooperation than a shortcoming of existing regulations -- if you expand regulations too much, you'll simply stifle legitimate online commerce (this seems to be happening in India where in the name of fighting tax fraud the government plans to no longer allow Indians to make purchases with their PayPal balances).

You're suggesting that HYIP's should be legalized. Legalized theft is the first step the beast to be unleashed, after that not one of them would be kept from doing what they do best and what they do is helping someones to steal others money. Not one legal system would allow such a boast. What I think is that the time of half measures and talk should be well over now and above revealing the method of functioning strict sanctions should be applied for any kind of business to be opened on the internet especially for those working with money. There are certain regulations that apply to those transfering money in any means but unfortunately HYIP's are not fall under their jurisdiction. Yet all authorities work on this matter like a raincoat after a major storm they act only if you have already lost money and despite the fact they've tried calling attention to these businesses releasing several information including how these programs work this intel rarely reaches the target audience and does not prevent them from investing. Honesty is not a word included in these program owners' vocabulary since the way they start their business is based on pure deception and even if they tell what is this all about there will be still enough people whose ingorance going to keep the table turning again and again.

The very first issue to be addressed with HYIP's is that these so called businesses have no agencies to report to, no regulations to control their activity. It's merely if not impossible to be wise on such a thing which releases only enough information to concern you. Relying on other's opinion is just the same. That's no secret, we can met hundreds if not thousands of people propagating false opportunities, posting false information, not to mention those payment proofs which can be forged within minutes in any better photo creation software. We need honest people to get rid of these thieves, that's why I started a whole community site for this.

Stands for that, nonetheless. But consider the fact that HYIP's are investment scams paying the previous investors with the money of newcomers. This is a fact. The SEC and the FINRA gave several warnings, if no one reads that's another thing.