The SEC and the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a warning to
investors about a sharp increase in e-mail linked to "pump-and-dump"
stock schemes.
The investor alert entitled Inbox Alert - Don't
Trade on Pump-And-Dump Stock E-mails notes that the latest McAfee Threats
Report confirms a steep rise in spam e-mail linked to bogus
"pump-and-dump" stock schemes designed to trick unsuspecting
investors. These false claims could also be made on social media such as
Facebook and Twitter as well as on bulletin boards and chat room pages.
"Investors should always be wary of unsolicited
investment offers in the form of an e-mail from a stranger," said Lori
Schock, Director of the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy.
"The best response to investment spam is to hit delete."
"Spam e-mail is the bait used to lure people into
making bad investment decisions. No one should ever make an investment based on
the advice of an unsolicited email," said Cameron Funkhouser, Executive
Vice President of FINRA's Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence.
Pump-and-dump promoters frequently claim to have
"inside" information about an impending development. Others may say
they use an "infallible" system that uses a combination of economic
and stock market data to pick stocks. These scams are the inbox equivalent of a
boiler room sales operation, hounding investors with potentially false
information about a company.
The attorneys at Sallah Astarita & Cox, LLC have decades of experience in stock fraud litigation. For more information contact us by email or visit our website at www.sallahlaw.com. For more information on this particular matter, visit SEC, FINRA Warn Investors About Pump-And-Dump Stock Spam.
