RIP-OFF ALERT: Ready for news of yet another Ponzi scheme?

A Georgia estate planner named Robert Copeland stands accused of bilking investors of $35 million, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Copeland had promised returns of 15% every 6-12 months using a "special" method of real-estate investing.

As with any Ponzi scheme, it initially works out because you can pay new investors with the money you've taken in from the original investors. But eventually, you mathematically run out of enough people to keep up the ruse.

So Clark wants to once again sound a familiar refrain: No one can promise a return on your money that's completely safe and somehow earns up to 5 times what anyone else is offering.

Think about Bernie Madoff. He duped a lot of supposedly sophisticated investors out of $50 billion. These investors suspended common sense because Madoff claimed to have a "special" system to safely generate annual returns of 10% or 12%.

Historically, a return of 10% or even 15% is not outrageous. That's why the cleverest Ponzi scheme operators promise returns that are right in that sweet spot. Their goal is to fly just below the radar to avoid detection, and to attract people with great amounts of money.

Be wary of any "no risk, great return" pitch. Simply go to BankRate.com and see the highest rate of interest you can earn on CDs. That way you can gauge what's normal if someone tries to offer you a substantially higher rate with their investment scheme.