MARKET SCAMS

[sarals]

"Cybersmearing is the practice of using the Internet to broadly and rapidly disseminate defamatory and false statements about a chosen target. Targets can include both businesses and individuals. When the target is your business, the consequences can be particularly painful. Small startups may find a cybersmearing campaign interfering with efforts to raise private funds. Publicly-traded companies can instantly find themselves on the defensive, trying to rebut unfounded accusations made by anonymous accusers. Perhaps most threatening is the rising trend in cybersmear tactics to manipulate stock prices. Even the best efforts to inform investors of the strengths of a company can quickly be undone by the cloud of suspicion a cybersmear campaign can create overnight."

http://library.biz.findlaw.com/injurytortlaw_1_213_1.html