(September 29 – 15:00 ET) – The Ontario Securities Commission is alerting investors to unsolicited e-mail messages which have recently been sent to Ontario residents promoting U.S. Bulletin Board stocks. One set of messages were directed to persons using the @home.com Internet service provider.
The OSC says persons receiving such messages should be aware that “insideportfolios.com,” the Financial Group of Naples, Florida, or an entity advertising itself as “Sizzle Stock Picks” are not registered to act as advisors in Ontario.
Advisors should remind their clients that unsolicited e-mail messages are one of the tools used by persons seeking to promote sales in a stock with aim to manipulating the price. The OSC’s experience is that there are instances where the price of a security has been affected, but the effects are almost always short term and market forces will return the price back to realistic levels. In these circumstances, investors who act without doing their homework will most likely lose some portion of their investment.
-IE Staff