HYIP stands for High Yield Investment Program. While a HYIP may sound enticing, you should be careful; many HYIP's are little more than thinly disguised ponzi schemes.

A ponzi scheme is a system by which investors are lured to invest in a program by promises of very high returns on the investment. Early investors are paid using the money that later investors invest in the scheme. Things go well until new investors stop joining the system and the money runs out.

Those HYIP's that are not ponzi schemes are frequently outright scams. Investors not only are never paid any interest yield, they also never see their original investment in the HYIP again either. If the returns sound too good to be true, the HYIP is likely too good to be true. Claims of secret banking systems and alternative financial networks are simply false. In fact, the problem became common enough to cause the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to issue warnings about being taken in by the claims made in these fraudulent programs. You are probably best off if you heed their warnings. If you are desperate to make money then these schemes can , at first, appear attractive. There are literally millions of pages on the web offering fast and high returns - involve yourself in them at your own risk - you will almost certainly lose your money 

If you are considering on making an investment in a HYIP be certain to do diligent research first. Any legitimate security that is sold to the public must be registered with the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). If the HYIP you are considering is not registered, you should not invest. Other questions to ask yourself include, whether the claims to good to be true, and how the people running the program generate the high yield returns that you are being promised. You should be careful of the claims people make regarding some secret network or principle that allows them to make excessive returns. If the proponents of the HYIP cannot or will not explain how the returns are made then you may want to avoid investing in the program.