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Joe St Sauver, Ph.D.
Director, User Services and Network Applications
joe@uoregon.edu
While most of this spam will be successfully blocked if you've set up your account to use SpamAssassin (see "SpamAssassin Available for All uoregon.edu Accounts" at http://cc.uoregon.edu/cnews/spring2006/spamassassin.htm), unfortunately some may still slip through and tempt you to participate.
Most often, HYIP scams promise absurdly high rates of return, perhaps a percent or more per day, while simultaneously claiming that your "investment" in that HYIP is both legitimate and risk-free. Your "participation" can often start with miniscule amounts (sometimes as little as $10 or $20).
If you send money into a HYIP site, you can count on being ripped off. No one will legitimately pay a percent or more a day for funds for risk-free purposes when they can get money from a bank (or even a cash advance from a credit card!) for a fraction of that rate.
HYIP always require you to leave your money in the program for some period of time, usually one to three months. When it is finally time for the HYIP to return your principal and its lavish interest earnings, the HYIP will have vanished, taking your money with it. Remember, if a deal sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Do not invest money in so-called HYIP schemes.
For additional information, see "Warning to All Investors About Bogus 'Prime Bank' and Other Banking-Related Investment Schemes" at http://www.sec.gov/divisions/enforce/primebank.shtml