Pump-and-dump scam causes spam surge
Security experts today warned of a "major new spam campaign" designed to manipulate the share price of a company that sells wireless products to young people.
Sophos reported that the scale of the spam campaign is such that it has led to a 30 per cent increase in the amount of spam seen by its global traps during the last 24 hours.
The spam messages are being sent to internet users worldwide with an attached PDF file that urges them to buy shares in a company called Prime Time Group. Investors may not be aware that the spammers have already purchased stock at a cheap price, and are now trying to artificially inflate its price by encouraging others to purchase more. The spammers plan to then sell off their stock at a profit, which may cause the price to plummet.
Sophos notes that since the rise in spam levels, Prime Time Group share prices have risen by 60 per cent.
