Well there are specific signs to watch out for and if you do your DD you should be able to sniff out the scams and if unsure its always best to stay away. For starters stick to: if its too good to be true then it probably is or if this stock is such a goldmine then why isn't everyone getting in...succesive PR's boasting sensational claims are also an indicator and I would suggest getting familiar with interprating the financials of stocks with The realization that many OTC and pink sheets that are scams cook their books and put out fake financials...Google spongetech delivey systems for an example. It's not always easy to determine, also stocks that are promoted by email newsletters and penny stock websites are often very fishy as they have to pay companies to advertise their stock to artificiallly inflate the pps. CBIS is not a scam , they are a real company, but in the past they had a reputation for promoting so the pps goes up and then dumping their cheap shares to generate revenue for the company which ultimately screwed a lot of unsuspecting shareholders over but a lot of legitimate companies have used this tactic to generate revenue but when the tactic continues over a period of time with Jo real progress in The company you have to be cautious. CBIS looks as if they are making real strides and are ready to take the next step in building this company but it is advised to still be cautious due to the fact that in many cases greed trumps all logic. Just keep your eyes open, don't get attached emotionally to any stock and good luck!! Always always do your own DD!!! Never rely on someone else's word