MineralRite Corp (RITE)

[CharlesNet]

By Melodie Warner

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority alerted investors Wednesday about a sharp increase in emails linked to so-called pump-and-dump stock schemes.
The industry regulators said a recent threat report from Intel Corp.'s (INTC) McAfee Internet security unit confirmed a steep rise in spam email linked to bogus pump-and-dump stock schemes.
The SEC said many of these emails tout a company's stock--typically small, microcap companies--through false and misleading statements to the marketplace.
But those sending the emails are often paid promoters or company insiders who stand to gain by selling their shares after the stock price is "pumped" up by the buying frenzy created in the wake of the mass email push, the agency said.
"Investors should always be wary of unsolicited investment offers in the form of an email from a stranger," said Lori Schock, director of the SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. "The best response to investment spam is to hit delete."
The SEC has increasingly halted trading of several companies delinquent in filing periodic reports with the regulator as it ramps up efforts to crack down on fraud, such as pump-and-dump schemes, involving microcap companies. Microcap firms typically have limited assets and low-priced stock that trade in low volumes.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 12, 2013 13:30 ET (17:30 GMT)