Now that financier-cum-fantasist Bernard Madoff has made Ponzi scheme into an everyday phrase, you would think that the American public would be warier than ever of being swindled. Not so. According to a report in today's Los Angeles Times, Ponzi schemes have found a new, insanely hospitable home: YouTube.

The report cites a study by the Better Business Bureau, which notes that nearly 23,000 Ponzi videos have been identified on YouTube. Many of them sneak in under the radar by identifying themselves as "cash gifting" schemes--i.e., chain letters for the innocent and greedy. You kick in a sizable contribution up front, and then rack up the dollars as subsequent contributors send in their cash.

This is, of course, a version in miniature of what Bernard Madoff pulled on his own investors. But at least Madoff had the advantage of prestige, power, and visibility. That's more than you can say for Chris Bernardo, whose YouTube video showed him siphoning cash from some eager beaver in a California parking lot. It was hard not to wince as "Ken" (who's either touchingly naïve or a superb actor) handed over five crisp $100 bills to his fast-talking mentor. YouTube has now removed Bernardo's video: an encouraging sign. But there are still plenty of cash-gifting spiels on the site, including this example by one Brad Kamanski:



Why would anybody fall for these pitches? Needless to say, there's no underestimating greed. But Bernardo and many of his peers are shrewd enough to couch the scheme in the language of community. You're not waiting by the mailbox for free money, you're joining a team. Or, even better, you're participating in a "War On Debt"--a concept explained on Bernardo's website to the visual accompaniment of Special Ops choppers and some pulse-pounding music. See? You're not a sucker, you're a patriot.

I suppose it's reassuring that Bernardo's video has been viewed only 1,504 times, while Kamanski has done even worse--a paltry 434 page views. But the Better Business Bureau estimates that the 23,000 videos have generated nearly 60 million page views. Even if you assume the proportionally microscopic returns of a traditional direct-mail program, that amounts to an awful lot of team members with empty pockets.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, had nothing to say to the Times, noting that it was against company policy to comment on specific videos. Nor did YouTube reply to our own request for a more general statement. As usual, there was more than enough related chatter on Twitter, although much of it simply batted back and forth the same links. But one tweet, by Richard Kadrey, did a very nice job of summing up the absurdity. ""I love that there are YouTube Ponzi schemes," he wrote. "It's like McDonald's getting you to play Three Card Monte with Happy Meals." Except that you never get a toy at the end.