Just think, while you or I may mark stock trading spam messages as junkmail, there are others who fall victim to the trading messages promising profitable returns. Unfortunately, the profitable returns are nothing more than false expectations for innocent individuals. The only people enjoying a return on these penny stocks are the spammers themselves.

Spam messages that tout stocks and shares can have real effects on the markets, a study suggests.
E-mails typically promote penny shares in the hope of convincing people to buy into a company to raise its price.

People who respond to the “pump and dump” scam can lose 8% of their investment in two days.

Conversely, the spammers who buy low-priced stock before sending the e-mails, typically see a return of between 4.9% and 6% when they sell.

That’s the latest report from BBC which shares the results of a case study by Oxford University’s Internet Institute. Any real stories of individuals falling victim to spam messages convinces me of the naiveness and vulnerability of the majority of the internet.