The U.S. Financial Industry Regulatory Authority says that it will be using Google to combat online Ponzi schemes called high-yield investment programs (HYIPS), which are being pitched through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

FINRA says that HYIPs display some of the classic signs of fraud, including the promise of extraordinarily high returns, and the payment of ‘referral fees’ to current investors that bring in new recruits.

FINRA’s investor alert issued Thursday points out that many of these scams have a worldwide reach, noting that one recently exposed scheme allegedly defrauded over 40,000 investors in over 120 countries of $70 million.

In order to help combat this growing online fraud, FINRA will be using search engine advertising to direct online investors searching for HYIPS to its investor alert warning about these schemes. “By using Google AdWords, we are hoping to reach anyone searching the Internet for HYIPs before they fall into the hands of con artists,” said FINRA senior vice president, John Gannon.

“HYIPs are old-fashioned Ponzi schemes dressed up for a Web 2.0 world. Some of these schemes encourage people to bring in new victims, while others entice investors to ‘ride the Ponzi’ by attempting to get in and get out before the scheme collapses,” Gannon added.

IE