SEC WARNS INVESTORS ABOUT FRAUDSTERS USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO MANIPULATE STOCK PRICES

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of Investor Education and Advocacy (“OIEA”) is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about fraudsters who may attempt to manipulate share prices by using social media to spread false or misleading information about stocks.

Social media and the Internet in general have become important tools for investors. Investors may use social media to research particular stocks, look up background information on a broker-dealer or investment adviser, find guidance on investing strategies, receive up-to-date news, and discuss the markets with others.

While social media can provide many benefits for investors, it also presents opportunities for fraudsters. Through social media, fraudsters can spread false or misleading information about a stock to large numbers of people with minimum effort and at a relatively low cost. They can also conceal their true identities by acting anonymously or even impersonating credible sources of market information.

One way fraudsters may exploit social media is to engage in a market manipulation, such as spreading false and misleading information about a company to affect the stock’s share price. Wrongdoers may perpetuate stock rumors on social media, as well as on online bulletin boards and in Internet chat rooms.

The false or misleading rumors may be positive or negative. For example, in a “pump-and-dump” scheme, promoters “pump” up the stock price by spreading positive rumors that incite a buying frenzy and they quickly “dump” their own shares before the hype ends. Typically, after the promoters profit from their sales, the stock price drops and the remaining investors lose money. In other instances, fraudsters start negative rumors urging investors to sell their shares so that the stock price plummets and the fraudsters take advantage of buying shares at the artificially low price.

SEC ISSUES INVESTOR ALERT FOR AFFINITY FRAUD

FROM:   U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to help educate investors about affinity fraud, a type of investment scam that preys upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities or the elderly. 

What is Affinity Fraud? 

Affinity fraud almost always involves either a fake investment or an investment where the fraudster lies about important details (such as the risk of loss, the track record of the investment, or the background of the promoter of the scheme). Many affinity frauds are Ponzi or pyramid schemes, where money given to the promoter by new investors is paid to earlier investors to create the illusion that the so-called investment is successful. This tricks new investors into investing in the scheme, and lulls existing investors into believing their investments are safe. In reality, even if there really is an actual investment, the investment typically makes little or no profit. The fraudster simply takes new investors’ money for the fraudster’s own personal use, often using some of it to pay off existing investors who may be growing suspicious. Eventually, when the supply of investor money dries up and current investors demand to be paid, the scheme collapses and investors discover that most or all of their money is gone. 

How Does Affinity Fraud Work? 

Fraudsters who carry out affinity scams frequently are (or pretend to be) members of the group they are trying to defraud. The group could be a religious group, such as a particular denomination or church. It could be an ethnic group or an immigrant community. It could be a racial minority. It could be members of a particular workforce – even members of the military have been targets of these frauds. Fraudsters target any group they think they can convince to trust them with the group members’ hard-earned savings. 

At its core, affinity fraud exploits the trust and friendship that exist in groups of people who have something in common. Fraudsters use a number of methods to get access to the group. A common way is by enlisting respected leaders from within the group to spread the word about the scheme. Those leaders may not realize the “investment” is actually a scam, and they may become unwitting victims of the fraud themselves. 

Because of the tight-knit structure of many groups, it can be difficult for regulators or law enforcement officials to detect an affinity scam. Victims often fail to notify authorities or pursue legal remedies. Instead, they try to work things out within the group. This is particularly true where the fraudsters have used respected community or religious leaders to convince others to join the investment.

How to Avoid Affinity Fraud

Here are a few tips to help you avoid becoming a victim of an affinity fraud scam.

• Even if you know the person making the investment offer, be sure to research the person’s background, as well as the investment itself – no matter how trustworthy the person who brings the investment opportunity to your attention seems to be. Be aware that the person telling you about the investment may have been fooled into believing that the investment is legitimate when it is not. 
• Never make an investment based solely on the recommendation of a member of an organization or group to which you belong. This is especially true if the recommendation is made online. An investment pitch made through an online group of which you are a member, or on a chat room or bulletin board catered to an interest you have, may be a fraud.
• Do not fall for investments that promise spectacular profits or “guaranteed” returns. Similarly, be extremely leery of any investment that is said to have no risks. Very few investments are risk-free. Promises of quick and high profits, with little or no risk, are classic warning signs of fraud. 
• Be skeptical of any investment opportunity that you can’t get in writing. Fraudsters often avoid putting things in writing. Avoid an investment if you are told they do not have time to put in writing the particulars about the investment. You should also be suspicious if you are told to keep the investment opportunity confidential or a secret. 
• Don’t be pressured or rushed into buying an investment before you have a chance to research the “opportunity.” Just because someone you know made money, or claims to have made money, doesn’t mean you will, too. Be especially skeptical of investments that are pitched as “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunities, particularly when the salesperson bases the recommendation on “inside” or confidential information. 
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SEC INVESTOR ALERT: FALSE CLAIMS OF BEING REGISTERED WITH THE SEC

FROM:  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 
Investor Alert: Beware of False Claims of SEC Registration
03/20/2014

The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy is issuing this Investor Alert to warn investors about potentially fraudulent investment schemes that involve individuals or firms misrepresenting that they are registered with the SEC. Investors should be careful to check the background, including license and registration status, of any person who tries to sell them an investment product or service, and should avoid investing with anyone who falsely represents that they are registered with the SEC.

Fraudsters may try to lure you into investing with them by falsely claiming to be registered with the SEC. In a recent fraud case brought by the SEC, SEC v Fleet Mutual Wealth, the defendants allegedly promised investors guaranteed returns of 2-3% per week through the use of a high frequency trading strategy, but instead used investors’ money to operate a pyramid scheme. The defendants allegedly recruited investors by misrepresenting that their firm was “registered” or “duly registered” with the SEC and pointing to the firm’s Form D filings to support this misrepresentation.

A Form D filing has nothing to do with whether an individual or firm is registered with the SEC.

Registration of Individuals and Firms

Many sellers of investment products or services are either brokers, investment advisers, or both. Most brokers must register with the SEC and join the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Investment advisers that provide investment advice to retail investors generally must register with the SEC or the state securities regulator where they have their principal place of business.
The fact that an individual or firm has made a filing with the SEC does not mean that the individual or firm is registered with the SEC. If an individual or firm offering you an investment product or service claims to be registered with the SEC, verify that this is true:

Determine whether a firm is registered with the SEC as a broker and whether key individuals are duly licensed, and check whether there is a history of investor complaints or problems with regulators, by using FINRA’s BrokerCheck or by calling the FINRA BrokerCheck Hotline at (800) 289-9999.

Determine whether a firm’s registration with the SEC as an investment adviser is active and whether any required licenses of individuals are current, and review disciplinary history by searching the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) database:

To check a firm, select the SEC Registration Status hyperlink.
To check an individual, review the Qualifications section of an Investment Adviser Representative Report Summary.

In addition, always contact your state securities regulator to determine whether an individual or firm is licensed or registered with your state securities regulator to do business with you, and ask about any complaints. Find contact information for your state securities regulator by visiting the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA)’s website or by calling NASAA at (202) 737-0900.

Registration of Securities Offerings and Form D

Under the federal securities laws, a company or private fund may not offer or sell securities unless the transaction has been registered with the SEC or an exemption from registration applies. Companies and private funds that offer and sell securities in reliance on certain exemptions from registration are required to file a brief notice known as Form D. Form D filings are publicly available in the EDGAR database.

Form D requires basic information about the issuer of the securities and the unregistered securities offering, such as information about the issuer’s executive officers, the size of the offering, and the date of first sale. The SEC does not verify the accuracy of the information in a Form D filing, and a Form D filing cannot be used to accomplish registration of individuals or firms with the SEC, or registration of securities offerings with the SEC.