High-yield investment program

Operators generally set up a website offering an "investment program" which promises returns as high as 45% per month or 6% a day, disclosing little or no detail about the underlying management, location, or other aspects of how money is to be invested. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has said that "these fraudulent schemes involve the purported issuance, trading, or use of so-called 'prime' bank, 'prime' European bank or 'prime' world bank financial instruments, or other 'high yield investment programs.' (HYIP's) The fraud artists … seek to mislead investors by suggesting that well regarded and financially sound institutions participate in these bogus programs."[1] In 2010, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) warned that "[t]he con artists behind HYIPs are experts at using social media — including YouTube, Twitter and Facebook — to lure investors and create the illusion of social consensus that these investments are legitimate."[2]
Though Ponzi schemes have existed since at least the early 1900s, the rise of digital payment systems has made it much easier for operators of such websites to accept payments from people worldwide.[3] Electronic money systems are generally accepted by HYIP operators because they are more accessible to operators than traditional merchant accounts. Some HYIP operators opened their own digital currency companies that eventually folded; these companies include Standard Reserve, OSGold, INTGold, EvoCash, and V-Money. StormPay was started in the same way in 2002, but has remained in business even though the HYIP that it was created to serve was shut down by the State of Tennessee.[4]
Some HYIPs have incorporated in countries with lax fraud laws to secure immunity from investor laws in other countries. The operators have been known to host their website with a web host that offers "anonymous hosting". They will use this website to accept transactions from participants in the scheme.[5] The HYIP scam may also create sites which employ spamdexing or other adversarial information retrieval techniques in order to attract potential victims by creating an impression that the company has done no wrong.[citation needed]
[edit]Examples

The largest documented HYIP scam was OSGold, founded as an e-gold imitation in 2001 by David Reed. OSGold folded in 2002. According to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in early 2005, the operators of OSGold may have made off with USD $250 million.[6] CNet reported that "at the height of its popularity, the OSGold currency boasted more than 60,000 accounts created by people drawn to promises of "high yield" investments that would provide guaranteed monthly returns of 30 percent to 45 percent."[6]
The second largest documented HYIP was PIPS (People in Profit System or Pure Investors).[7][8] The investment scheme was started by Bryan Marsden in early 2004 and spanned more than 20 countries. PIPS was investigated by Bank Negara Malaysia in 2005 which resulted in Marsden and his wife being charged in a Malaysian court with 97 counts of money laundering more than 77 million RM, equivalent to $20 million.[9] Even after these charges were brought forth, many of Marsden's followers and investors continued to support him and believe they would see their money in the future.
Some Ponzi schemes promise yields that appear realistic and as such are not considered "high-yield investment programs." Bernard Madoff's Ponzi scheme offered yields of only 5% per year, for example.[10][11]
Other HYIPs that have been shut down due to legal action include:
Geniusfunds inc. (Cyprus)
Ginsystem Inc. (Singapore) - Commercial Affairs Department of Singapore retrieved 2007-07-01
Solidinvestment (United States)
City Limouzine (India) Pvt Ltd started by Sayed Mohammed Masood and Chand Syed Masood. (India and United States) [12][13]

Foreign exchange autotrading

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Forex autotrading is a trading strategy where buy and sell orders are placed automatically based on an underlying system or program on the foreign exchange market. The buy or sell orders are sent out to be executed in the market when a certain set of criteria is met.
Autotrading systems, or programs to form buy and sell signals, are used typically by active traders who enter and exit positions more frequently than the average investor. The autotrading criteria differ greatly, however they are mostly based on technical analysis.[1]
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Types
2.1 Advantages
2.2 Disadvantages
3 See also
4 References
[edit]History

Forex autotrading originates at the emergence of online retail trading, since about 1999 when internet-based companies created retail forex platforms that provide a quick way for individuals to buy and sell on the forex spot market. Nevertheless, larger retail traders could autotrade Forex contracts at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange as early as in the 1970s.
[edit]Types

There are two major types of Forex autotrading:
Fully automated or robotic Forex trading: This is very similar to algorithmic trading or black-box trading, where a computer algorithm decides on aspects of the order such as the timing, price or quantity and initiates the order automatically. Users can only interfere by tweaking the technical parameters of the program; all other control is handed over to the program.[citation needed]
Signal-based Forex autotrading: This autotrading mode is based on manually executing orders generated by a trading system. For example a typical approach is to use a service where traders all over the world making their strategies available to anyone interested in the form of signals. Traders may choose to manually execute any of these signals in their own broker accounts.[citation needed]
[edit]Advantages
An automated trading environment can generate more trades per market than a human trader can handle and can replicate its actions across multiple markets and timeframes. An automated system is also unaffected by the psychological swings that human traders are prey to. This is particularly relevant when trading with a mechanical model, which is typically developed on the assumption that all the trade entries flagged will actually be taken in real time trading.[2]
Signal Provider based models offer traders the opportunity to follow previously successful signal providers or strategies with the hope that the advice they offer will continue to be accurate and lead to profitable future trades. Traders do not need to have expert knowledge or ability to define their own strategies and instead can select a system based on its performance to date, making Forex trading accessible to a large number of people.
[edit]Disadvantages
As a decentralized and relatively unregulated market, it is extremely attractive to a number of Forex scams. Forex autotrading, as it brings Forex trading to the masses makes even more people susceptible to frauds. Bodies such as the National Futures Association and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have issued warnings and rules to avoid fraudulent Forex trading behavior.[3]