Agarwal, S;
Vasek, M;
(2022)
Investigating the concentration of High Yield Investment Programs in the United Kingdom.
In:
Proceedings of the 7th IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroS&PW) 2022.
(pp. pp. 105-116).
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
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Abstract
Ponzi schemes that offer absurdly high rates of return by relying on more and more people paying into the scheme have been documented since at least the mid-1800s. Ponzi schemes have shifted online in the Internet age, and some are re-branded as HYIPs or High Yield Investment Programs. This paper focuses on understanding HYIPs' continuous presence and presents various possible reasons behind their existence in today's world. A look into the countries where these schemes purport to exist, we find that 62.89% of all collected HYIPs claim to be in the United Kingdom (UK), and a further 55.56% are officially registered in the UK as a 'limited company' with a registration number provided by the UK Companies House, a UK agency that registers companies. We investigate other factors influencing these schemes, including the HYIPs' social media platforms and payment processors. The lifetime of the HYIPs helps to understand the success/failure of the investment schemes and helps indicate the schemes that could attract more investors. Using Cox proportional regression analysis, we find that having a valid UK address significantly affects the lifetime of an HYIP.
| Type: | Proceedings paper |
|---|---|
| Title: | Investigating the concentration of High Yield Investment Programs in the United Kingdom |
| Event: | 2022 IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroS&PW) |
| Location: | Genoa, Italy |
| Dates: | 6th-10th June 2022 |
| ISBN-13: | 978-1-6654-9560-8 |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1109/EuroSPW55150.2022.00017 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1109/EuroSPW55150.2022.00017 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Ponzi scheme, investment fraud, financial crime, cybercrime measurement |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Computer Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10154813 |
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