Posted on 05/22/2006 2:16:22 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob
Everyone on the Internet gets a lot of spam. This is my effort to fight back against anonymous people peddling fraudulent stocks to the gullible. I’m going to name names, and encourage these pond scum to come out from the shadows and sue me for “defaming” them.
For more than a year, I have been barraged with stock tips from non-existent people with non-existent return addresses, touting penny stocks that are not on any exchange. Each of these e-mails has an odd subject not referencing stocks, with intent to sneak by e-mail filters. I harvested four days of these. Here are the results.
A typical scam e-mail begins:
Investor Alert - WE HAVE A RUNNER ! Company: China World Trade Corporation Symbol: CWTD.OB Current Price: $1.52 Short Term Target: $2.5 - $3 Recommendation: STRONG BUY Rating: 10 (10)
Take Advantage of the current price on Thursday, we expect to see it begin climbing Friday, Monday and Tuesday in anticipation of the coming news.
Of course, this strong recommendation comes from a non-existent source, “Lawrence Cherry,” with a fictitious subject, “pumice acutely.” Several questions come to mind. Who are the “we” behind this e-mail? If the stock is going to nearly double in the next few days, why don’t the current owners hold the stock and pocket the profits, rather than send e-mails to strangers offering profits?
Besides, I’ve heard of China World Trade in fake e-mails before. About six months as I recall, and always with the same message – get in now, the stock’s going to skyrocket. It reminds me of an earnest young man outside the Metro North Farragut Metro stop in D.C. a while back, carrying a sign that “the world will end on 19 September.” On the 20th of September, the young man was gone. At least he had the integrity to make his prediction in person, and put a date on it, so the results could be checked.
From its marketing by spam e-mails alone, I conclude that China World Trade Corporation is a fraud, and that everyone involved in selling this stock is trying to cheat the unwary out of their hard-earned dollars. The difference between these people and a pickpocket is these folks let you use your own hands.
If those people don’t like my considered opinion, I invite them to sue me. That will smoke them out of their holes, and allow me to counter-sue them for abuse of the Internet and wasting my time to throw away their junk, perhaps two dozen times.
I got the exact same recommendation about CWTC from Louisa Sanchez “calculation;” Jessy Rowland “right-hand man;” and Fred Bishop “amass.”
And now for some other stocks that you should not touch with a ten-foot barge pole.
Abigail Milton, under the title “Being adjust it’s evans,” wrote of offer me a fine opportunity in Deep Earth Resources, Inc., with a “Current Price of $0.008" and a “Short Term Target Price of $0.07.” That’s not a misprint. This stock is less than a penny. Its symbol is DPER.PK. This dog is kenneled in Singapore.
Why is this stock going to “rocket up quickly”? Well, the directors have just “changed the Company name [and] initiated efforts to identify acquisition and joint venture opportunities within the energy sector.” Wow! That’s enough to make me grab for my checkbook. Not.
Again, based on its marketing, I conclude Deep Earth is a fraud, and all associated with its stock sales are swindlers.
Joey Morrison, “deduction oversee,” wrote me to tout HE-5 Resources Corp,, symbol HRRP, price $0.073. This is a “growth-oriented emerging natural resources company.” It “intends to invest ... in mining projects.” This e-mail does contain fine print at the bottom that the unidentified sellers have received four million shares “free” from a “third party not an officer” for their fine services.
It ends with the this caveat, which all these stock e-mails ought to contain. “There is substantial doubt about [the Company’s] ability to continue as a going concern.... Warning: You can lose all your money by investing in this stock.” Because of this caveat, put the peddlers of HRRP down as “honest” swindlers.
Gloria Mckay, “single ruinous,” was also kind enough to write me about the fine opportunities for investing in HRRP. So was David Harrington, “steering deportation.”
Mind you, I don’t suggest any government regulation of the Internet. As the noted scholar Peter Drucker wrote, “Every government program in the 20th Century has achieved the opposite of its intended effect, except for warfare.” Just give us citizens of the Net the right to sue the socks off everyone associated with this spam, including the ISPs that communicate this swill, and we will solve this problem PDQ.
About the Author: John Armor still might be a candidate for Congress in the 11th District of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu
John / Billybob
Seems that there is money to be made in a email filter that actually works... I'd buy one...
Bump for later read.
pump and dump
How many people actually buy these things based on an email with a nonsense headline?
"Hey Sally, it's Kim -- just wondering what's up with you. I gotta cancel our dinner plans for tomorrow, since I'm working on a new project for So-And-So Corp. that really looks like it's going somewhere, and I'll be in the office late reviewing the sales projections, yada-yada-yada. Call me tonight and I'll tell you all about it!"
There really ought to be a managed investment plan for conservatives, something in the billions that can be used for political muscle. Democrats have the entitlement state to use on their side, basically the whole government.
Well, an active filter - [treating everything as spam, and filtering EVERYTHING off, save what you manually instruct it to pass] could work.
This may be harsh, but for anyone to invest without due diligence is courting disaster.
Greed over responsibility...
Ya gets what ya deserve sometimes..
Go get em John.
I get these spams all the time.
We should be able to file a class action for all the worn out finger tendons as a result of having to hit the delete button.
8 - "There really ought to be a managed investment plan for conservatives,"
interesting idea, please expand.
The most efficient email filter is the educated human brain. Look at the following subject lines quoted in the article, and take a wild guess what gives them all away...
pumice acutely
Right hand man
Amass
Deduction oversee
single ruinous
steering deportation
All are subject lines and all are random words strung together that have absolutely no meaning.
It is obvious that they were chosen by people who have no grasp of the English language.
Why would anyone think there is anything honest about such a non-sensical email?
The only way to beat the spam parade is to use a separate email address for all online purchases, registrations, etc., and never allow your business or personal email addresses to be coded on a web page unencrypted.
I deleted about 10 of these this morning from my bulk email. I never even open them. If it sounds to good to be true....
I can afford one share. Send my $0.062 profit to my home address.
Good practice.
The down side is that I've missed 15-20 winning Euro-Lottery drawings in that same time...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.