A new scam is going around, according to this SEC press release.
Here’s how the pump & dump scam work: They leave a voicemail — “breezy, intimate messages” — sounding as if a female caller mistakenly believes she has dialed a girlfriend, who then pretends to confide inside information she has learned from “that hot stock exchange guy I’m dating.”
Suckers here the message, and go out and buy a worthless, highly touted pump and dump stock.
The SEC is asking investors who receive these kinds of calls to let them know the company being touted, the exact date and time the call was received, the number called, and the number from which the call was made, if available. E-mail the information to Enforcement@sec.gov, or call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
The creativity of these dirtbags is un-ending . . .
Sources:
SEC Press Release
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2004-113.htm
SEC Investor Alert
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/wrongnumberscam.htm
It’s not the Creativity of Dirtbags. It’s the stupidity of the sucker
I’ll agree with Jon; several years ago, there was a somewhat similar “hot tip” scam in the sports betting world, wherein people would get a “freebie” to entice them to pay for further tips. Apparently, the scammers kept removing half of their list with each tip, only continuing to contact those who had gotten the winning “tip.”
They apparently made a fortune, as they were charging $100k+ per tip after a few rounds.
I just wrote an article on this scam, yet to be released (if I ever get around to it).
This is a real traveling circus. The con artists travel from city to city putting on this show. A big bunch of taped phone messages released simultaneously, scrounging up just a few suckers to run to their brokers and buy the touted, thinly-traded stock, cash-out, fold the tent, and go.
–Jack Payne