Email Spam

Email spam is big issue globally. It is particularly harmful if it is relating to stock market "pump and dump" scheme.

US SEC recently announced that it had continued its assault on stock market email spam by suspending trading in the securities of three companies that haven't provided adequate and accurate information about themselves to the investing public.

The companies, all of which trade on the Pink Sheets, are susceptible to spam stock promotions because they have inadequately disclosed their assets, business operations and/or management, their current financial condition, and/or financing arrangements involving the issuance of the companies' shares.

The trading suspensions are part of SEC's Anti-Spam Initiative announced earlier this year that cuts the profit potential for stock-touting spam and is credited for a significant worldwide reduction of financial spam. A recent private-sector Internet security report stated that a 30% decrease in stock market spam was triggered by actions taken by the SEC, which limited the profitability of this type of spam. In addition, spam-related complaints to the SEC's Online Complaint Center have been cut in half.

Since the launch of its Anti-Spam Initiative in Mar 2007 to combat spam-driven stock market manipulations, SEC has suspended trading in the securities of 39 companies and has brought several spam-related enforcement actions.

SFC has also actively combating "boiler room" activities that are usually associated with email spam. But I think there would not be too many people in HK cheated by email spam.