The HYIPs are alive and well, and their numbers are steadily rising again. I recently looked into some (not naming names) and the dedication of their "investors" on facebook fan pages and so on is relentless. I tried telling them what that was and that they're going to loose all their life savings, but nobody listens. They're like a cult of mostly uneducated individuals. I agree with stock777 about the "neutering".
It's all the same story when it comes to money and greed. Penny stock investors and people involved in multi-level marketing are just like that.