NASAA Cautions Investors to Be Wary of High-Yield Investment Programs

The North American Securities Administrators Association ("NASAA") issued an advisory warning investors to approach high-yield investment programs ("HYIPs") with caution.

The advisory notes that the most conspicuous characteristics of HYIPs are the promise of very high returns with little or no risk to the investor, and the payment of referral fees to current investors for bringing in new investors.

NASAA President and Washington Securities Director William Beatty remarked that, in this way, HYIPs "blend elements of both Ponzi and traditional pyramid schemes into one scheme that can spread faster than ever before."

See: NASAA's Informed Investor Advisory.