MARKET SCAMS

[Bird of Prey]

Josh,

Your mention of comparing P&D and S&D brought the following article written by Gary Swancey (better known as GABARD):
His basis for the article was personal experience.

PUMP & DUMP vs SHORT & DISTORT
by Gary Swancey

Most traders have heard and read of the Pump & Dump scheme. But very little has been written about the other side of the trade or its opposite, which is the Short & Distort.

Now lets take the Short & Distort scheme and apply it to the rules of Pump & Dump for stock manipulators.

In order to make these market manipulations work, the professionals assume:

(a) The Public is STUPID and
(b) The Public will mainly buy at the HIGH and
(c) The Public will sell at the LOW.

Therefore, as long as the market manipulator can run crowd control, he can be successful in his agenda of stock manipulation by controlling the market's greed and fear.


STAGES FOR THE DEADLY ART OF STOCK MANIPULATION
The Pump & Dump Scheme

Stage 1: The Acquisition of shares.

Please note: all sharp price movements, whether up or down, are the result of one or more, usually a group, professionals manipulating the share price.

(Loading): In stage I of a Pump & Dump scheme Manipulators after acquiring their shares leak information and pump the stock to get buyers silently. This leads to front loading also.

Stage 2: The Promotional Campaign!

Note: this is designed to spread a rumor/story and to play on the emotional greed of a pie in the sky find. It begins to spread across the financial world. Joe public rushes in not to miss the next gold rush.

(PUMP/Greed) Newsletter writers are hired -- either secretly or not -- to cheerlead a stock. PR firms are hired and let loose upon an unsuspecting public. Contracts to appear on radio talk shows are signed and implemented. An advertising campaign is rolled out (television ads, newspaper ads, card deck mailings, e-mails, etc.).

The company signs up to exhibit at "investment conferences" and "shows" (mainly so they can get a little "podium time" to hype their stock and tell you how "their company is really different" and "not a stock promotion.") Funny little "hype" messages are posted on Internet newsgroups. BTW the more, the merrier. 1000% returns are projected.

Stage 3: The infamous DUMP!

(DUMP) The once low volume that caused a bit of a spike suddenly changes to big volume. The stock manipulators sell out their positions into the new buying brought on by the promotion campaign.

Stage 4: The Silence or News Vacuum!

(Silence) No more news or insider leaks of information to pump the stock to get buyers. The front loading sells out. The silence plays on the emotional fear of being hoodwinked. Negative opinions begin to spread across the financial world. Joe public sells out to cut their losses. The really slick market manipulators would even seed the Internet news groups or other journalists to plant negative stories about that company. Or start a propaganda campaign of negative rumors on all available communication vessels.

Stage 5: The Distortion!

(Gone/Waiting/Shorting):


Stage 6: The Accumulation!

(Gone/Waiting/Buying): If the manipulator sees an opportunity the stock is on the floor and not part of the Short & Distort campaign they will begin buying back and slowly accumulating. As the Shorters were shorting the first manipulator was selling, so now it goes the other way. Buying to put pressure on the shorter to cover. Accumulation by new investors and averaging down of old investors are leads to the pressure on the short.



STAGES FOR THE DEADLY ART OF STOCK MANIPULATION
The Short & Distort Scheme

Stage I: Monitoring

In stage I of a Short & Distort scheme Short groups Monitor spikes in volumes on stocks with no rumors.

Stage 2: Flagging

Shorts Flag stocks that run up then sits back and wait patiently for their time.

Stage 3: Preparation

The Shorters research the company and develop their Distortion of the rumors to be used later.

Stage 4: Actual Shorting

The shorts step in selling on every possible up tick. This is the Reverse of front loading. Preparations are made to attack the guy who had earlier written positively about the company and take out, discredit, any new long-term champions or messengers.

Stage 5: Distortion Campaign

The shorts step in and increase selling on every possible up tick. Just as with the pump, newsletters, e-mail, PR firms against P & D, etc. are simulated. Expertise in the field is recruited for credibility. Any possible twist using POS (Purposely Omitted Syntax) and PAS (Purposely Added Syntax) is conveniently used on every possible angle. If the POS/PAS is discovered then attack the messenger. Above all control the message boards.

The group clutters the message boards so no positive information can be readily found. Justification is the Value of the Company in the market. Projections of $0.00 worth and loss projections of 100%

Note: The market manipulator will do everything in his/her power to keep buyers OUT OF THE STOCK. Cut your losses is touted to stimulate fear. You bought higher but now they need you to sell lower.

Stage 6: Pressure

The shorts have taken it too far. The volume is increasing and the price is not effectively dropping. A stalemate occurs. Personal attacks increase. Threats of legal action, SEC involvement, and yes even death threats increase. Increased secret IDs are employed to increase the cluttering, personal attacks and the distortion. So begins a string of lies that run for as long as one's stomach can take it. Desperately playing on the "you have been had" scenario. Any new news will be hit it hard by shorters to kill any interest.

Note: Watch the volume not the share price. A market manipulator will have various brokers buying and selling the stock to give the APPEARANCE of increasing volume but the price goes down. Thus stimulating the story the company is selling or an off shore reg S or other convenient scenario. Watch for large blocks that show up but have a MM special code, cross overs, etc.

Stage 7: The Cover

Without warning the buying pressure is too much and the short begins to cover. Short covering combined with new investors buying into the stock causes the stock to go up. Often the whole thing starts again. Just a vicious cycle sometimes.



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Note: Pump & Dump schemes I have seen are investigated by the SEC most of the time, however the Short & Distort scheme is not apparently high on the SEC's agenda. The shorts, unlike the dumper though, has an unlimited loss factor should the stock price go up.


Remember this is just my personal opinion. Check with a licensed financial professional on all matters of the stock market.


The Bird of Prey