Investigators warn of new share scam
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| The phoney shares never reached this trading floor |
Paris, 2 July 2002 - Investors are being lured by the promise of huge profits on bargain basement offers of shares in companies said to about to go to the market with Initial Public Offerings (IPO) that never materialise.
ICC's Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) say the fraud at first appeared to be run from various companies based in East Asia and Europe, but investigations now point to a single organization. Victims were invited to transfer their funds to a bank account in Liechtenstein that has since been closed.
So if a high pressure salesperson calls out of the blue with an offer not to be missed of a stake in a previously unknown but credible sounding company that is about to go public, the advice of ICC's anti-fraud experts is: "Don't fall for it".
The pitch is to persuade investors to test the waters with an initial purchase of 1,000 shares at say $4. The victims are then called again at intervals before the supposed launch date with further offers of shares at a reduced price. Sellers attempt to make the deals sound authentic by claiming that a fictitious insurance company based in London has underwritten them
CCB's Jon Merrett says: "Needless to say, the companies quoted don't exist and the promised IPO never happens. Investor inquiries about timing first meet evasive answers and then the selling company becomes uncontactable. Investors are left with worthless paper."
Investigators are now trying to discover the whereabouts of the funds transferred out of the Liechtenstein account and to trace other bank accounts that may be used in the scam.
Said Jon Merrett: "We would like to hear from any investors who believe they may have become entangled so that we can establish an audit trail and assemble enough evidence to pass on to law enforcement in the appropriate jurisdictions."
Anyone who thinks they may be a victim of the share s
cam should call Jon Merrett at ICC Commercial Crime Service in London on +44 (0) 208 591 3000.
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