Jim,
Another company(MGM) was after YAHOO Message board poster for spreading falsehoods under one of its board member's name. I put all the pieces together in this post for your enjoyment:
... 1]... CNET article to get insight into MGM vs Yahoo Msg poster: news.cnet.com _________
MGM combats fake message posted on Yahoo By Reuters
---- Excerpted ----
LOS ANGELES--In another warning sign for investors using the Internet, a bogus posting from someone claiming to be MGM's former chairman led the film studio to post a note warning investors to beware.
Late Tuesday, visitors to a Yahoo message board saw a note from someone using the name "frankgmancuso," advising shareholders to sell MGM stock ahead of a planned stock rights offering, which would eventually dilute the number of shares outstanding and place downward pressure on the stock price. .... CUT ...
The real Frank G. Mancuso resigned as MGM chairman and chief executive last spring, but he is still a consultant and member of its board. So a warning bell from Mancuso sounded a fairly ominous note for investors.
But Mancuso did not post the note. Investors quickly called his office, which then informed MGM. After consulting with attorneys, MGM posted a message using the name "mgmcorporate" warning investors that Mancuso was not the posting's source.
MGM said the message appeared to be from short sellers who were attempting to affect the stock price, and it warned that doing so was a violation of U.S. securities laws.
"Frankly, we had some reluctance in dignifying the message, but we felt the issue was serious enough to warrant our posting," said MGM senior vice president Craig Parsons. ... CUT ...
The story may remind some stock watchers of last April's bogus posting on Yahoo concerning a southern California technology company called PairGain. In that case, a phantom message linked investors to what was purportedly a news story speculating that PairGain was a takeover target.
The bogus story sent PairGain shares soaring 31 percent before it was detected as false and yanked from the board by Yahoo. FBI agents traced the bogus message to a PairGain engineer, and he was arrested. ... CUT ...
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... 2] ... The Yahoo post this article was referring to: messages.yahoo.com ___________
Let the selling begin by: FrankGMancuso
Down over 2 today and the rites have not even been issued. If you wait much longer you will lose any amount you might have made with the rites.
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... 3] ...
MGM's Warning message on the Yahoo Message Board:
messages.yahoo.com ___________________
Falsehoods... by: mgmcorporate
We have been notified by one of MGM's board members, Frank G. Mancuso, that his name is being used falsely in the Yahoo chat room attached to messages about Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. This is apparently an attempt by short sellers to manipulate the stock price by spreading false information - an illegal act for those that need to be reminded. The real Frank G. Mancuso has advised the Company that he has never sent any messages and that the use of his name is totally unauthorized. The Company will pursue all available remedies to halt the spread such false and misleading information.
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Goutama |
