Tuesday, February 21. 2006
Pump-and-Dump
Since Christmas, I've seen the number of pump-and-dump emails skyrocket. These scammers are really getting active, so I thought I'd track one I just got.This morning, I saw about a dozen versions of the pump-and-dump for "APPM". The emails go something like what you see here: it's an image that looks like text. Some are really text, although most anti-spam programs can find those now.
So I checked on APPM's stock price today. Sure enough, it's taking off! As of 4:20pm Today, it's up 30% for the day at $1.16, up from $0.89 a share (It's APPM.PK, by the way. It's traded on a foreign stock exchange).
Looking at the 5 day chart, it's even better - up from just over $0.20 a share last Thursday. Whoohoo! Jump on board...except....
There's NO data before last Thursday. None.
That's because it didn't exist before last Thursday. "Apparel Mfg Assoc" doesn't really exist, except for the purposes of this scheme. So yes, if you bought it yesterday and sold it today, you'd be in great shape. But anyone who buys today is going to find their stock worthless tomorrow.
I'll be back tomorrow with an update....
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THANK YOU!
You likely saved me my money and heartache!
I, too, got the email re: APPM. While I have NEVER invested in any pink sheets (penny stock), although I do actively trade on e-trade, just not penny stocks. Anyway, I found interest in this legit appearing press release.
I could not figure out who/why I got this random release emailed to me, from a person/email address I didn't know, but decided to do more research.
The release is appears in several places indexed under "news" via google search....
But then ran in standard search, and thankfully came across your site and this excellent information. You are a fantastic slueth ... and, THANK YOU for posting the info!
If I hadn't of found your site, I was about to take a very risky, and now I know very STUPID, chance on this pink sheet, non-existant company!
You likely saved me my money and heartache!
I, too, got the email re: APPM. While I have NEVER invested in any pink sheets (penny stock), although I do actively trade on e-trade, just not penny stocks. Anyway, I found interest in this legit appearing press release.
I could not figure out who/why I got this random release emailed to me, from a person/email address I didn't know, but decided to do more research.
The release is appears in several places indexed under "news" via google search....
But then ran in standard search, and thankfully came across your site and this excellent information. You are a fantastic slueth ... and, THANK YOU for posting the info!
If I hadn't of found your site, I was about to take a very risky, and now I know very STUPID, chance on this pink sheet, non-existant company!