On Friday 13 April 2007, a person named Sibt-e-Hassan Shah aka "Double Shah" was arrested by government officials in Wazirabad, a small town of Pakistan. Sibt-e-Hassan claimed to double the money within 30 days in the beginning of his scheme and later 90 days. He is suspected to have gathered very large investments (approx US$ 1 Billion) in a very short time period.

Such fraudulent schemes are now very common in business markets of today and are referred as Ponzi schemes. A Ponzi scheme usually offers abnormally high short-term returns in order to entice new investors. The high returns that a Ponzi scheme advertises (and pays) require an ever-increasing flow of money from investors in order to keep the scheme going. The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, who became infamous for using the technique after emigrating from Italy to the United States in 1903.

In Ponzi schemes the promoter promises very large returns on an investment, such as "double your money in 60-90 days." or a "can't lose" scheme for making money that others have overlooked. Payments are made to a few early investors to prove that the investment isn't crooked. These fortunate few are known as songbirds, since they sing the praises of the scam to others, bringing in new victims eager to make the same kind of generous returns. The Ponzi scheme collapses when the number of previous investors seeking a return exceeds the number of new investors bringing in additional money.

Ponzi schemes are only one example of the countless ways in which people have successfully embezzled others’ money. The prime factor for anybody’s investing in such schemes is that people want a quick and easy way to multiply their earnings so that they can be better off in later life and have the security of a steady flow of cash when they pass the retirement age. Such people are the best targets for frauds and looters who want nothing but personal gain through cunningly crafted methods which can fool innocent people.

The best way to avoid any schemes of this sort is to thoroughly verify wherever anybody is investing by making sure that they follow the safety steps so that their money is not given to immoral people as a neatly wrapped gift. Not only will it help the money to be invested in more productive ventures but it will also help transfer of money to the people who really need it.