One of the most insidious tactics in an experienced High-Yield Investment Program (HYIP) admin's playbook is the 'selective scam.' This is a strategy they employ in the final days of a program's life to prolong the illusion of health and to maximize their final profits. It involves deliberately continuing to process small withdrawal requests—specifically those from HYIP monitors—while ignoring or denying the larger withdrawal requests from real investors. This tactic is designed to manipulate the monitoring system and to create a state of confusion that allows the admin to continue collecting deposits long after the program has effectively collapsed. To understand how a selective scam works, you must first understand the business model of the HYIP monitor. Monitors typically invest a small, fixed amount (e.g., $20) to track a program. As long as their tiny daily withdrawal is paid, their system will automatically keep the program's status as 'Paying.' A savvy admin knows this. When their program enters a death spiral due to a liquidity trap, they make a simple calculation. It might cost them only $50-100 per day to process all the small withdrawals from the major monitors. This is a tiny expense compared to the thousands of dollars in new deposits they can still attract by maintaining a 'Paying' status across the board. They are essentially paying a small daily fee to keep their 'shop window' looking attractive, while they are emptying the stockroom out the back door.
The result of a selective scam is chaos on the community forums. You will see two contradictory sets of reports. One group, composed of new investors with small positions and the monitors themselves, will be posting payment proofs and insisting that 'the program is paying fine!' The other group, composed of older, larger investors who are trying to withdraw their principal or significant profits, will be complaining loudly that their withdrawals are pending. This creates a deeply confusing situation for the average investor. Who do you believe? The official monitor status says 'Paying,' but a trusted forum veteran says they are not being paid. This is the fog of war that the admin deliberately creates. They know that many investors will choose to believe the official 'Paying' status, and will continue to deposit money. For more on how scammers use social engineering, this article from a major cybersecurity firm is very insightful: What is Social Engineering?.
The key to spotting a selective scam is to learn where to place your trust. You must learn to value the word of a single, credible, long-standing forum member with a large investment over the automated status of ten monitors. The human intelligence, the ground-truth from the real victims, is always a more reliable and timely indicator than the automated systems. When you see this pattern of conflicting reports emerge, you must immediately recognize it as a terminal sign for the program. The selective scam is not a sign of a temporary problem; it is the scam in its final, most cynical phase. For a visual metaphor, imagine a store owner who keeps the front door of their shop open and welcoming, while the inside of the shop is completely empty. 
. The prevalence of the selective scam is the number one reason why you cannot rely solely on monitor statuses. Your due diligence must always include a careful and nuanced reading of the community discussions. It is there, in the frustrated posts of the first major victims, that you will find the real truth.
Author: Matti Korhonen, independent financial researcher from Helsinki, specializing in high-risk investment monitoring and cryptocurrency fraud analysis since 2012.
