There is no way to completely ferret out scams and unreputable companies. Best thing is to do as much reasearch and reading as possible. Read the Yahoo message boards, read these boards and just be cautious...if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
A company has to reach certain criteria to be listed on any of the "big" boards, including minimum bid price and others...
An IPO is used when a company is first being listed. Since BTOR is already listed there will not be an IPO (which stands for Initial Public Offering)...