If there's one thing everybody loves, it's the idea of getting rich quickly. That's why people are so prone to jump on opportunities they should probably know are too good to be true. You're promised a great return on your initial deposit--something insane like 25% a month and 87% a year.

Simple math would show that if you put in $10,000, you'd come out with $12,500 at the end of the month. The people promising it claim to be well-established. They have a reputable sounding name, too, featuring words like, "International," "Financial" and "Investments".

You're not sure how it works (the ad said something about "global currency arbitrage"), but after inquiring you receive a fancy book with information on the company. It looks pretty reputable, and they were also recommended to you by someone you trust--a friend or a coworker. How could you possible go wrong?

Once you join, you will begin receiving periodical statements of your account, showing the daily, weekly, or monthly profit – which will make you confident about your investment. You get your statement showing impressive earnings--and instead of pulling your money, you re-invest, thinking you found some sort of golden opportunity.

Unfortunately, that's just what the scammers are looking for. They use your money to pay out people who cash out and use your testimonial to get more people on board. Simply put, they rob John to pay Jack, and then rob Shannon to pay John. Once the investment companies have a healthy chunk of change, often amounting to millions, they take off. If you're already in a scheme like this, cash out as soon as possible. No boom is forever.

How to avoid: in the search engines, write the name of the company followed by the word “fraud”. Whatever comes out will tell you if you should join or not. And anyone promising you such significant returns is almost guaranteed to be a scammer.