Pump and dump penny stock e-mail phishing scams rose by a massive 400% in 2006 according to data from US digital security firm SonicWall.
Last year both US and Canadian regulators warned online investors of the so-called pump-and-dump stock schemes, where criminals use funds from looted brokerage accounts to drive up the prices of little-traded stocks. They then sell shares they had bought earlier at a profit.
In August, the Investment Dealers Association of Canada warned brokerages to be on the alert for suspect account activity after reports of the scam from a number of member firms, while in December the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained an emergency asset freeze against Estonia-based Grand Logistic which is accused of conducting a pump and dump scheme.