PONZI SCHEMES........GOOD OR BAD??????

A Ponzi scheme (also a Ponzi game or a Ponzi) is a fraudulent investment operation where the operator, an individual or organization, pays returns to its investors from new capital paid to the operators by new investors, rather than from profit earned through legitimate sources.Operators of Ponzi schemes usually entice new investors by offering higher returns than other investments, in the form of short-term returns that are either abnormally high or unusually consistent. Ponzi schemes occasionally begin as legitimate businesses, until the business fails to achieve the returns expected. The business becomes a Ponzi scheme if it then continues under fraudulent terms.Whatever the initial situation, the perpetuation of the high returns requires an ever-increasing flow of money from new investors to sustain the scheme.The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, who became notorious for using the technique in 1920.
with the harsh Economic Recession right now many Nigerians are involved in these ponzi schemes despite the warnings of SEC.

Are this schemes really safe or they just a scam????.............how many of us have actually made long term returns from investing in this ponzi schemes?