Guys, our society is about to collapse. I thought stockgeneration.com was a PARODY website, like itulip.com. But no, it is a REAL BONAFIDE scam running out of dominica. And people are lining up to send them money. Their business plan? "We promise to double your money every month." 'Virtual' Stock Market Draws Lots of Real Money From Plungers Roseau, Dominica, Nov. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Stock Generation.com says it gets $35 million a week by asking visitors to its Web site a simple question: 'Would you like to double your money every month?'
The Internet company says hundreds of thousands of people from more than 50 nations participate in its 'virtual' online stock exchange, buying and selling imaginary stocks -- 'the best investment for your money.'
The Web site, based on the Caribbean island of Dominica, calls itself a 'game without losers.' It can point to some bewildered but happy players. Computer technician Jason Rockey of Clarkesville, Indiana, for instance, says he wired $3,000 to the site and now shows an online account balance of $90,000. 'Not too shabby for doing nothing,' said Rockey's message in an online forum. 'The way I look at it, it's some gambling game.' His big fear is a December collapse if people pull money out amid concern about the Y2K computer bug.
Securities regulators are less entranced. They call Stock Generation.com a pyramid scheme, where money from new players pays off earlier participants. All goes well until cash from newcomers dries up, they say, and the game collapses. 'It's the perfect scam,' said Deb Bortner, a securities regulator in Washington state for 20 years and president-elect of the North American Securities Administrators Association. She worries that regulators 'have no access to SG's offshore bank accounts.' (more) |