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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Rocky Mountain Int'l (OTC:RMIL former OTC:OVIS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Just My Opinion who wrote (49779)	7/19/1998 8:59:00 PM
From: Kenny Low	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 55532

Another interesting story for all: desnews.com Investors in bull market being gored by con artists Last updated 07/12/1998, 12:01 a.m. MT By Steven T. Goldberg Kiplinger's Magazine When times are good, it seems, the no-good get going. Securities regulators report that the bull market in stocks has spawned a bull market in fraud. Some examples: - Executives of Monroe Parker Securities, a defunct securities firm that had been based in Purchase, N.Y., were arrested in May on charges of illegally reaping millions of dollars by manipulating low-price, over-the-counter stocks. - A California man pleaded guilty to bilking 1,600 people out of $95 million, promising they could get risk-free returns of 25 percent a year by buying life-insurance contracts from terminally ill patients. The man had advertised for clients on the Internet. The remarkable run of the U.S. stock market is tempting people to lower their guard. The North American Securities Administrators Association, which represents state securities regulators, found that complaints in 1997 were up 30 percent from a year ago. NASAA recently identified what it considers today's top investment frauds. The entire list is posted at(http://www.nasaa.org): - Affinity-group fraud, in which crooks target members of their ethnic group or professional association. - Fraud being committed over the Internet. - Abusive sales practices, including sales of securities to investors for whom they are not suited, fraudulent offerings and market manipulation, particularly with penny stocks or "micro-cap" issues. - Investment seminars whose sponsors may engage in unlicensed selling activities or fail to disclose conflicts of interest and hidden fees. What can you do to avoid being fleeced? For starters, if someone is offering an unusual investment, check with your state securities regulators to see if the investment has been registered with the state. If not, be extra cautious. If you're contacted by a securities broker, check out the individual's history and that of his or her firm through the National Association of Securities Dealers' central registration depository. (Call 800-289-9999, or visit the Web site at nasdr.com.) Beyond that, let common sense rule. Don't make investments you don't understand.