Have to is the key word. Doesn't mean they do. Even when laws are blatantly broken they aren't always enforced. I have all kinds of stories.
Was trading Cryolife and it broke neckline signalling big break out. I went in a huge position for me 50,000 @7.6. Stock slowly kept grinding up and when it sped up into 8.4s I put a sell 8.6. Stock peaked 7.48 and started dropping so I cancelled my order. Hours later into close it started spiking went through 8.5 really quickly though 9, 10. Closed like 10.5sh I am bouncing off the walls in disbelief, was my biggest trade ever. Then within 10 minutes afterhours it goes through 12 and right for 12.5 which was big peak spot from before. I go to sell and all the sudden out of nowhere 15 minutes after market close 8.6 sells pop up. Furious I called broker who called the ECN. ECN said my order was never canceled although I have screen shots of it being canceled without ever reaching the price(still showing in my account). And they pushed the fill hours later, had order been open and filled I would have rebought. I complained to SEC, NASD, clearing firm, broker. Threatened with lawsuits. End result I was blindly robbed of $200,000.
I also would do ECN rebates on locked up price stocks say .10x.10 and would do 250k-500k orders for .004 rebate. A few times when I was best bid out of nowhere they'd fill me and charge me .01 costing thousands of $s. Blind robberies that no agency would look into and enforce blatant stealing.
About 6 years ago a firm I worked with stole all my money among many other traders and I lost almost everything I ever worked for. Filed complaints with SEC, FINRA, FBI, IC3, NY AG. Was on a first name basis with FBI dealing with them for over a year. Although the guy eventually got charged to this day hasn't spend a day in jail.
Also had cases where $ just disappeared from my brokerage account with no trace lol
All that stuff I had no control over. When still young and having build up accounts my pink sheet learning process involved drinking kool aid. Company OMOG cost me over half the money. Michael Barnett was the guy I believe. Idiot that I was wrote him. Got his #. Got sweet talked and lied to and believed. Which led to a total disaster.... I moved on, guy eventually got popped trying to lure underage girl and got jailed.
So my point in all of this is I lost huge on pink sheets before and learned. While my loss could be attributed to a scammer IT WAS ME WHO MADE THE DECISION TO BUY, THEN ADD, THEN ADD MORE. CONTINUE TO BELIEVE THE LIAR. IT WAS ME WHO INVESTED MORE THAN I SHOULD HAVE AND IT WAS ME WHO BROKE EVERY STOP LOSS RULE I HAD. In this business been robbed enough money to be retired by now and in ways where regulations and regulators should have protected me. But they didn't. So when people take risks with money they can't afford to lose and don't take losses when they should I have zero sympathy for them. They put themselves in that position. Anyone with half a brain if they did any research of pinks would know what they getting into. If they choose to ignore the risks and not follow basic rules they have no-one to blame but themselves.
