HYIP (High-Yield Investment Program)

A high-yield investment program otherwise known as HYIP is regarded as a type of Ponzi scheme; an investment scam promising unsustainable return on investment. Investors are paid with the money invested by new investors. In most cases they operate from anonymous locations and identities.

Some investors try to make money by attempting to invest in HYIPs at an early enough stage to create a return, and then by cashing out before the scheme collapses to profit at the expense of the later entrants. This is in itself a gamble as poor timing may result in a total loss of all money invested. To reduce this risk some of these investors use "tracker sites" listing the schemes and their current state. One expert states that there is not enough evidence to corroborate that tracker sites can actually help investors make more money.