They’re hot air, but spam share scams are rising

Andrew Ellson looks at the e-mail fraudsters who ‘pump and dump’ shares for a quick profit

Legend has it that a dodgy day trader once made a huge profit by faking a confidential takeover report on one of his stocks and strategically losing it in coffee shops across the City. The ensuing buying frenzy sent the company’s share price skywards, at which point the trader sold.

Now a new generation of fraudsters is exploiting the mass-marketing potential of spam e-mail to conduct a similar swindle against unsuspecting private investors.

Full Article on TheTimes.co.uk

The Times   September 23, 2006