Do We Really Need Software To Catch Pump And Dump Stock Spammer Transactions?
from the is-it-that-difficult? dept
A few years ago, there was a study that showed that pump-and-dump stock spam scams actually made money for the scammers. However, what no one has been able to explain is why it isn't easy to track down those responsible. Just find out who bought a bunch of the stock just before the spam went out -- and who sold it all as others started buying up the stock. Sure, it's likely that scammers will try to cover their tracks, somewhat, but it shouldn't be that hard to track down who bought and sold early. In fact, it seems like it would be rather easy. So while we appreciate efforts like this new software that tries to notice such a pump-and-dump in action and alert traders of a potential issue, it's still not clear why this is really an issue at all. It still doesn't explain why we're simply not going after those who made money from the pump-and-dump scam in the first place. And, of course, there's the flip side of the argument: if you're suckered into buying a penny stock based on a spam email, some might say you deserve to lose your money.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: pump and dump, scams, spam
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It's To Send A Message
I had two of my domains used as a return address during a pump and dump spam campaign during 2006. The amount of backscatter and angry emails I received was staggering.
Here's the solution - catch spammers, shoot them against a wall and make the suckers that paid them money clean up and bury the dead bodies.
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Prevention
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Re: Prevention
This effort to stop an in-process scam doesn't focus on catching the criminal. So the reward/risk ratio stays very high. This plan won't remove the strong incentive to give it a shot.
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Re: Re: Prevention
I agree effort should be focused on catching the perpetrators as well as stopping the schemes. As I metnioned though; punishing these people may not always be possible, and after the fact punishments don't always do much to clean up the mess.
I guess my point was that in scams like this where the perpetrators may not always be as easy to catch, I don't think there's anything wrong with working on shutting down the scheme alongside increasing efforts to go after the guys that pull it off.
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It is possible to hide a money trail. It isn't easy to do well, but it can be done.
Trying to spot the tell-tale trades that precede the scam seems like a good idea. I imagine there would be quite a few false positives, but it is worth trying to catch such an operation early. It might be just another speed bump for the scammers, but enough speed bumps might encourage the scammers to move to another form of scamming.
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It might not be so easy . . .
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Taking advantage, umm.. a risk
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More spam?
A spam message to tell you about potential spam. That's great!
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No offense but this sounds like a solution some blue collar schmo spouts off in the barroom after a few beers.
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