Meissner Goodison Lee & Associates

Meissner Goodison Lee & Associates have been approaching shareholders in the Jade Dragon Group (SRPJ), offering to by seemingly worthless shares for $25 a share, under the guise of a take over. There is also the matter of the 10% up front fee which must be paid in order for the transaction to take place. The takeover does not exist of course, and the likelihood is that you will not see your up front payment again.

There is an ongoing discussion on Meissner
Goodison Lee & Associates at the Boiler Rooms UK forum.

Heritage Financial Inc - Boiler Rooms at Work

Heritage Financial Inc have been calling potential investors, offering $14.80 per share in both BDC and SRPJ. Both of these stocks (BDC
and SRPJ) are the subject of discussion at the Boiler Rooms UK forum. Because the shares in these companies are restricted (regulation S), Heritage Financial are claiming that a fee needs to be paid to lift the restrictions.

They are also claiming to be registered with US Government sites, but the sites that they tell you about, although looking genuine, are fake. A hard sell ensues, with many plausible arguments being used, but the bottom line is that they are offering huge prices on stocks that are worthless.

Why?

Parker Rowe - Another Boiler Room

Another boiler room, Parker Rowe, has been actively courting potential investors in the UK. They have been making claims of legitimacy, by saying that they are in fact a regulated Company, when in fact, they are not.

Tony Hetherington has done an excellent piece on Parker Rowe, which is reproduced if you follow the link.

de Verre Lloyd - Boiler Rooms Activity

de Verre Lloyd have been cold calling and using very aggressive selling tactics on potential investors. Care should be exercised when dealing with this Company, whose name has been flagged up by the authorities in Hong Kong, Singapore, Australian, New Zealand and others.

There is an ongoing discussion on de Verre Lloyd at the Boiler Rooms UK site. There is also a discussion on de Verre Lloyd opened up at the VRI Open forum.

There are statements from victims of de Verre Lloyd on the Boiler Rooms thread, as well as website details, which can be quite revealing.

Lox International - Boiler Room Attempting To Sell In UK

Another Boiler Room is making an effort to sell stocks to Investors in the UK.

Not much details is forthcoming about this present wave, but there is an FSA warning about these people.

For an on going discussion about Lox International, please see the Boiler Rooms UK forum.

Stem Genetics

A classic boiler rooms con that hit UK investors particularly hard was the Stem Genetics stock from the Sukumo Boiler Room.

This was one of those that got me too.

You can read much more detail on the whole Stem Genetics thing on this excellent blog.

Crest International Holdings

Crest International Holdings are targeting non US investors in a manner that suggests that they are a boiler room.

Details on Crest International Holdings activities, from information received, are shown below.

Any dealings with Crest International Holdings, should be carried out with great care. Please follow the links on this page and conduct your own thorough due diligence.

A discussion on Crest International Holdings and others is also taking place at the Boiler Rooms UK forum.

Please add this company to the list of such firms. To view a list that combines most international securities agencies 'Alerts' naming these companies, please link to


Crest International Holdings.

Pan Euro Financial SA

Another suspected Boiler Room has been peddling its wares in New Zealand.

They appear to be well known to the Australian Authorities

Biofield

Biofield

If you receive a call asking you to purchase shares in this company please obtain the following:

Name of the caller?
Phone number so you can call them back?
His/her location?
Website for the company?
Before you proceed ask the caller to fax to you a photocopy of a picture ID of himself/herself?
Get the name of the state it is incorporated in. For example, Florida.?

Ask about the investment?
If they are selling shares, are the shares restricted?
If company is US based do they have any filings with the SEC?

How many total shares can they sell( not just to you but overall shares)?

Name and phone number for the President of the Company?

Are they employees of the firm?

Do they work for a stock brokerage agency?

Get its name and the name of the state it is incorporated it?

First calls going to Canada?

Names
Saul Bell
Todd Kitay

All of the above is considered part of Due Diligence-Biofield
Possible boiler rooms

Thorpe Callow & Rowe International

Thorpe Callow & Rowe International are cold calling potential investors in the UK, which is in itself illegal.

They are using high pressure techniques to try and sell shares. More details of their activities will be posted here as they come to light.

One of the stocks being offered by Thorpe Callow & Rowe International is Western Sierra Mining. They are claiming that an investors portfolio should be heavily stacked in favour of mining and related stocks.

It is common practice for boiler rooms to start you trading by offering you small deals to get you started. What happens then is that more pressure is applied at a later date to invest more heavily. I have personal knowledge of boiler rooms being involved in the manipulation of share prices to facilitate a prospective investor's investment.

An ongoing discussion on Thorpe Callow & Rowe International is continuing at the Boiler Rooms UK forum. If you have been called by these people, please let others know.

Nationwide Mergers & Acquisitions Inc.

Nationwide Mergers & Acquisitions Inc have been cold calling potential investors in the UK, which is, in itself, illegal.

Of these potential investors who have come to light, having been called by Nationwide Mergers & Acquisitions Inc, there is sinister trend. They have all been victims of boiler room scams in the past. A typical boiler room scam will defraud investors by selling worthless stocks using very high pressure sales tactics and deceit.

The nature of the calls being placed by Nationwide Mergers & Acquisitions Inc, are to offer to purchase large quantities of worthless shares at a premium price. The catch is of course, that they are seeking a "Refundable Penalty Restriction Fee", which must be paid in advance. The size of the fees being asked for are substantial, but cast against the potential gain being offered, might tempt some victims to try and recover some of their previous losses. If paid, it is highly unlikely that "Refundable Penalty Restriction Fee" will be seen again.

There is a forum discussion on Nationwide
Mergers & Acquisitions Inc at the Boiler Rooms UK forum.

OFT announces scams awareness month

The Office of Fair Trading have today launched a scam awareness month. Let's hope that investment fraud and boiler room scams feature somewhere in their publicity - or perhaps we should ensure it does?

Scams Awareness

Cross-border mass-marketed scams targeted

13/05 27 January 2005

The OFT will launch a month-long campaign to alert the public to deceptive and fraudulent mass-marketed scams on 1 February.

The campaign is co-ordinated throughout the member countries of ICPEN, the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network. The ICPEN president this year is Christine Wade, the OFT's director of consumer regulation enforcement.

The campaign aims to arm consumers with the knowledge and skills necessary to recognise, report and stamp out scams, many of which originate from overseas. It will support the development of further cross-border co-operation between ICPEN member organisations such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and between members and other law-enforcement agencies such as the FBI, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the United States Postal Inspection Service. In addition to alerting the public about scams they may receive through e-mail, the post or by telephone, it will culminate in a worldwide internet sweep, co-ordinated across ICPEN member countries, specifically to identify current scams which use unsolicited e-mails (spam) to target victims.

The OFT's awareness campaign will include:

- information on the most common types of scam
- a leaflet highlighting what people should look out for and how to protect themselves against falling victim to deceptive approaches, to be distributed through trading standards departments, neighbourhood watch schemes, and other voluntary and statutory agencies
- a radio advertising campaign
- a video news release and web-chat.

Christine Wade, director of consumer regulation enforcement at the OFT, said:

'As the global market place shrinks and communications systems become more sophisticated, the threat from rogue traders and scams that exploit consumers increases. Scammers are organised, manipulative and resourceful. Scams damage individuals and harm the interests of legitimate business. That is why the OFT has identified combating scams as a priority area for the next three years.

Our presidency of ICPEN presents us with an opportunity to work more closely not only with ICPEN members, but also with law enforcement agencies in other countries so we deliver seamless global enforcement and tackle scams which originate outside our borders. That work must extend to arming consumers with the skills to recognise and combat scams when they are targeted.'

Lydia Parnes, acting director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Education, said:

'The FTC is very pleased to join ICPEN and the OFT in this global campaign to educate consumers about the tell-tale signs of fraud and scams. By publicising the tools to recognise fraud and report it, we can help stop it and, in turn, increase consumer confidence in cross border trade.'

Tim Killam, Assistant Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said:

'The RCMP works closely with many partners nationally and internationally to combat organised crime in all its facets, including consumer fraud. If we are to be successful in ensuring safe homes and safe communities, our approach must be fully integrated and borderless.'

NOTES

1. ICPEN is a membership organisation comprising the trade practices law enforcement authorities of more than 30 countries. The mandate of the network is to share information about cross-border commercial activities that may affect consumer interests, and to encourage international cooperation among law enforcement agencies. The network operates under a rotating presidency.

2. The campaign will roll out over the month of February and feature weekly announcements highlighting different types of scams and advice on how consumers can recognise and protect themselves against being conned.

Boiler Room and stock fraud Awareness