| A century ago P.T. Barnum sagely told us, "A sucker is | | | | stoked by the bargain-basement price, investors flew |
| born every minute." At the time he was, no doubt, | | | | to the stock driving its price from $5 to $7.50 in |
| correct. | | | | minutes. With the aid of the many day traders on the |
| No longer. In today's internet world, that time-span has | | | | exchange, who buy quickly on rumor, the scam artist |
| been cut back to every nana second. Now that spam | | | | walked off with a fast-buck haul of $520,000. Presto. |
| has been somewhat curtailed, scam artists have | | | | Nothing more than a classic pump and dump, only |
| moved their operations, largely, to internet bulletin | | | | taken out of the usual "pump" time frame, speeded up |
| boards and chat rooms. That's all. A change of venue. | | | | so that the whole thing would come to climax before |
| Like maggots fried in hot grease, they have moved, | | | | law enforcement authorizes could even answer their |
| jumped, spread out, occupied many of these new | | | | phones to take the inevitable complaints. Real. But, like |
| communications centers. | | | | a classic page from a legal thriller book. |
| This up-the-ante, beat-the-street move was made | | | | Take a long look sometime. Observe all of the stock |
| necessary because state law enforcement agencies, | | | | boards and news boards hanging in cyberspace. As |
| the SEC, and the FTC have, in recent years, set up | | | | so many scam artists still dance on the internet in a |
| teams to daily police the worldwide web. With spam, | | | | perpetual spam-fest, this stock "guru" found a better |
| being the most obvious and easiest to detect, the | | | | way. Whereas legendary con man, the Music Man's |
| scam artists have been forced to a better, alternative | | | | Professor Harold Hill, gave us 76 trombones, he put a |
| outlet for their "avant-garde" visions. | | | | little cha-cha-cha into the sax section. |
| With a chat room, nothing more than pulling all the old | | | | The SEC gets in upwards of 200 complaints a day |
| con-lines out of mothballs and reusing them is needed. | | | | about illegal activity on the web. Most pf these are |
| With con-world tactics, they spiel out typical con-like | | | | stock scams. With fraud made this easy it should |
| jargon, and reel in the usual high percentage of | | | | come as a heavy-booted reminder that this particular |
| suckers. Just like the good old days. | | | | form of Scamology 101 should be featured in Scam |
| With bulletin boards--those Illusory walls seemingly | | | | School, for the benefit of all concerned watchdogs and |
| profaned by graffiti--it's a little different. The scam | | | | law enforcers. |
| artists are challenged. Tactics and timing take greater | | | | It's textbook. |
| emphasis. Try this example on for size: | | | | With his imposing presence, elegant sartorial style, and |
| A clever scam artist left a message on a prominent | | | | eloquent use of the language, the con man has |
| stock board that a small U.S. hi-tech company was | | | | evolved. And now, with his range so widely expanded, |
| about to be bought up by a European firm for | | | | your life as a potential target has expanded right along |
| $900.000.000. This was a sum nearly double its market | | | | with it. Unless you count your age in elephant years, |
| value. The posting had a link to another bulletin board | | | | you will most likely find yourself in his cross-hairs at |
| which displayed a press release giving the details. The | | | | some moment in your life. |
| press release was a phony, placed there by the con | | | | Prepare. Learn. Now is the time. Be ready for that |
| man himself. His purpose was 1-track, to temporarily | | | | cure-all elixir when it comes. |
| drive up the price of the stock. With the temptations | | | | |