Web Surfers Help Regulators Nail Stock Scams
By Nancy Waitz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As government regulators scramble to beef up their surveillance of securities fraud on the Internet, private cyberspace detectives and ordinary Web surfers are helping bridge the gap.
Outgunned by the explosion of investment information online and the migration of con artists to the medium, state and federal regulators make heavy use of commercial Web sites plus the investment tips and complaints posted on bulletin boards.
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt has complained for months that he needs more resources to fight Internet fraud and is due to detail his strategy in a speech at the National Press Club Tuesday.
The power of the Internet was demonstrated earlier this month when a posting on a Yahoo! message board dramatically boosted the price of California technology company PairGain Technologies Inc. .
A 25-year-old engineer who worked for PairGain has been charged with stock manipulation by posting a bogus news story.
Federal agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission have begun to field large Internet surfing teams but even they make heavy use of tips, according to those familiar with their operations.
The www.stockdetective.com site said it was first to post investor complaints about press releases issued by online auctioneer Millionaire.com . In March, Millionaire.com (OTC BB:MLRE - news) disclosed the SEC was seeking documents related to past capital-raising activities.
But some experts think regulators should be doing more themselves because even the tips can turn out to be efforts to manipulate investors.
''You don't know who's really behind it and they're ripe for abuse as well,'' said Michael Missal, a former SEC lawyer now with Washington law firm Kirkpatrick and Lockhart.
The SEC declined several requests by Reuters to view its Internet surveillance operation. But the agency said it created a 'cyberforce'' group last year that now draws on a pool of 241 investigators with Internet training.
Of 478 enforcement cases brought by the commission last year, 38 were Internet related, a spokesman said.
Regulators, lawmakers and Internet investment sites agree that the soaring popularity of the Web and a rising stock market have created a risky climate for novice investors.
With tens of millions of people in the United States having access to the Internet the environment is ripe for fraud.
''The phenomenon of the Internet is that we get all these new investors who had no experience prior to the Internet and are extraordinarily naive about investing in stocks,'' said Kevin Lichtman, publisher of www.stockdetective.com, one of 18 Web sites produced by FinancialWeb.com .
California's Department of Corporations, for instance, describes that state as a major exporter of Internet securities fraud and its four-person surveillance team uses chat sites and news groups to focus its limited resources.
''We like to go after those who actively advertise their offerings and try to draw investors to their Web sites,'' said Marc Crandall, lead counsel for California's Internet Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) unit, formed in March 1998.
''Therefore we like to perform surveillance operations in those areas where investors are likely to be,'' he said.
Due to material discovered by its ICE team, California's Department of Corporations has issued 40 desist and refrain orders to 160 individuals and firms. It has obtained preliminary injunctions in 26 instances and two cases have been referred for criminal prosecution.
In a recent demonstration for Reuters, ICE's Crandall searched for suspicious buzz words like ''guaranteed profit'' and came up with 121 Web pages.
Moving to the www.dejanews.com site which catalogs newsgroup messages, Crandall sought ones on investing.
Within 20 minutes he had found a few suspect offerings including one advertising free stock for investors. ''Nothing is free,'' Crandall said, noting it as a possible scam.
But investors need to play their part and be more wary about tips and investment offers posted on the Web.
''We can't be there to protect everybody all the time, but investors can certainly protect themselves all the time,'' said Crandall.
dailynews.yahoo.com
In my opinion all investors need to be aware of the fact that stocks are manipulated in both directions. The internet is a powerful tool for doing research and sharing information but overly zealous people often do more damage than good.
Regards, Jeff
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