Realize that most HYIP's are not real programs and that they rob Peter to pay Paul. Just hope your Paul!!
Realizing that they are is the most important lesson. You can still make some money in this arena. Just follow some simple rules.

1. Invest only what you can afford to lose. (It is similar to Gambling.)
2. Spread your investments into 7 or 10 programs. (create a portfolio)
3. Take out your investment "risk" ASAP! I like to invest in programs where I can remove my Risk within 30 days.
4. Take profits often. You never know when that program that you thought was a sure thing will disappear.

That being said, their are programs that appear to be true investments, IE. Feeder Fund.

But these programs ROI is not much better than investing in a Higher Risk Mutual Fund.

Some people, and I know a few. Started HYIP's on the basis of investing in Forex. I myself have done some Forex Investing. I had several programs to track signals, trying to find good Enter and Exit points to buy/sell between currencies. Setting stops to ensure if the currencies go the wrong direction I wouldn't lose too much money. Some days I could make anywhere from 10 to 240 PIPS on my best day, but over the long run, I would pretty much break even.
These guys felt they could make a go of it, it worked for a while and they were able to pay everyones interest and make money themselves. But they hit a bad streak of luck for about a week. They had enough in reserve to pay for two or three bad days, but a week was too much and they lost it all. They felt the pressure of trying to pay their investors and took risks they shouldn't have taken. When the program ended, there actually wasn't any money left period. They didn't run with peoples money. There just wasn't any money left.

The moral to this story is, yes there are many scams, then there are programs like the one I discribed, where people actually thought they could grow an investment business, but in the long run, they really didn't know how to run the buisness. This is the risk you run, investing in HYIP programs. Even honest ones can fail if the traders make mistakes.

When you invested, you agreed to the rules, these rules basically say, if we lose all your money, you have no recourse against us. You agreed to these rules when you invested!

Sorry for the book...

KLAW

Realize that most HYIP's are not real programs and that they rob Peter to pay Paul. Just hope your Paul!!