IT security group warns of giant 'pump-and-dump' spam scam

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2007

PARIS (AFP) — Spammers have unleashed one of the biggest online stock manipulation campaigns in history in the last 24 hours, increasing global spam levels by 30 percent, a leading IT security company claimed Wednesday.

Experts at SophosLabs have detected about 500 million emails containing advice to invest in Prime Time Stores Inc. -- an obscure US-based retail company -- in a record-breaking example of the "pump-and-dump" spamming technique.

"Pump-and-dump" is when spammers buy shares, orchestrate a spam campaign promoting the company, then wait for a share price to rise before selling their stock for a profit.

"This particular campaign was first detected 24 hours ago in Germany and has caused a 30-percent rise in spam worldwide compared to typical...