Boiler Rooms Scams

Gerry · July 7, 2008

Scum, the lot of them. A few years ago my father got stung by one of the classic scams where they sell you shares in US companies which are dimply unsellable for a year or two. They then artificially pump up the price to make it look like you're making a profit and sell you more. After they've hooked in enough people they let the price drift and none of the poor punter can do anything about it. The essentially worthless shares in worthless companies are worth bugger all, even if you could sell them. He still gets pestered by the SOBs, trying to get him to invest more money. He almost got caught out by a follow-on scam where they try to convince you that they have a buyer for your worthless shares - all you have to do is transfer a "handling fee" over to them and you'll be making a fortune. Luckily I managed to stop that one just before it happened.

Anyway, one of these gits managed to pester my father enough so that he gave them my phone number (something he regrets doing). So I field a phone call from him from his office in Canary Wharf (caller ID showed it was an international call). Trying to sell shares of genuine oil companies (OilExco, Dragon Oil) at a discount to the market price. All I have to do is transfer money to their account, the shares are mine, and they get a 2% commission when I sell (for a vast profit of course). I tell them I need a couple of days to think about it - which gives me enough time to do some resource. Turns out (of course) that they're on the FSA s***-list of non-approved overseas firms that are trying to sell shares. Their flashy, but empty website is hosted in New York and has only been running for 4 months or so. So I've just got off the phone with the b*****d telling him (politely of course) how his firm isn't authorised by the FSA (he says they don't need to be) and that what he's doing is essentially illegal (how dare you say that!) and could he kindly bugger off and leave me alone.

How can these people live with themselves? They're essentially preying on the naive people out there, like my elderly father, who are essentially quite trusting individuals, and actually believe that people wouldn't lie to them in such a brazen manner. My dad's quite taken aback that this kind of thing goes on to be honest.

Anyway, if you work for Goldman and Ross, and you happen to be reading this, I hope your dick falls off.

RP · July 7, 2008

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