Wonder is business wire sues them->U.S. SEC fakes news to educate investors
WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - In a twist on recent investment hoaxes, the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday issued a news release from a nonexistent company in an elaborate effort to educate investors on the dangers of casual investing.
According to the fake release, biological defense systems manufacturer McWhortle Enterprises Inc. will go public on Jan. 30, 2002. The statement was issued by the SEC via PRNewswire, which disseminates financial news releases.
The news release, which promotes McWhortle's track record as a well-known provider of detectors that can sense bio-hazards from as far as 50 feet away and is complete with directions to an Internet site (http://www.mcwhortle.com).
However, visitors to the site are only a few clicks from a page headlined: "If you responded to an investment idea like this...You could get scammed!"
The same page says the investor protection message is brought to Web surfers by the SEC, North American Securities Administrators Association, the Federal Trade Commission and NASD Regulation, a market self-regulatory group.
"The entire Web site is a complete fabrication, posted to alert investors to potential on-line frauds," it says.
An SEC spokesman declined to comment.
The SEC, in the months since the Sept. 11 hijack attacks and discovery of anthrax in the mail, has taken action against four companies that have touted anti-terrorism technologies.
A person familiar with the site said it aimed to borrow from the tactics of stock market con artists who know how to entice investors, in an effort to educate consumers on how to spot these frauds.
In the past, fake news releases have been used to deceive investors and make a quick buck out of stock markets.
Last year, college student Mark Jakob from Los Angeles was sentenced to jail for issuing a fake press release in August 2000 that triggered frenzied selling in data storage equipment maker Emulex Corp. <EMLX.O>
19:11 01-25-02 |
