Boiler Room Scams

[looker1]

As merstocks points out, these kind of e-mail tips have been around for years, very simple, incorporate a company, float it on an exchange, show a little volume and movement, then promote it, price goes up and you dump and run.
These are easy to avoid, i get these kind of offers all the time, it is obvious its a scam to be honest, just delete them and move on. The ones that people get caught by are the boilerrooms themselves that have loads of theiving salesmen in that have huge addictions to feed. these people occasionallyy get caught, or at least websites shut down and banking removed to prevent them doing business.
If you by a stock off the back of an e-mail, your're as good as asking for it!

 

[Merstocks]

Hope you get it sorted out Bob.

Hmm Boiler Rooms scams. Must find out more about them.

From my limited experience I have learned that if there is a slightest doubt at the back your mind before you get in, don't do it. Even the most ningling doubt should give you concern. Also if your questions are not fully answered to the point of your satisfaction stay out. After all they are supposed to be professionals. They should know the drill. They should be able to answer everything. Otherwise at the very least if you go for it, the lack of response to your questions as the deal goes through will be a source of major stress. Are you paying someone to increase your stress ?

Seems the point about sticking with the banks is a good one.

 

[tjbloggs]

has anyone info on Blackwell Capital Group and Pantera oil & gas

I found this information on their website, as they have cold called me too!

Whois Information For blackwellcapital.com :
PageRank :
Hosted on IP : 81.3.70.137
Hosted in GB (United Kingdom)


blackwellcapital.com


{Owner Contact Details}

Blackwell Capital Group, Blackwell Capital Group, 1 Queens Road, Hong Kong, , 01002, HK

{Creation} 12 June 2006
{Expiry} 12 June 2008
{Updated} 12 June 2006


{Administrative Contact}COMPILA
Harvey Raybould, Compila Ltd, Chislehurst Business Ctr, 1 Bromley Lane, Chislehurst, Kent, BR7 6LH, UK
Telephone, +0044 (0)208 289 3039
Facsimile, +0044 (0)208 249 3191
Electronicmail, [email protected]

{Nameserver Details}
ns7.sovdns.com 81.3.70.137
ns7sec.sovdns.com 81.3.70.138

 

[jrawlin1]

ATS Specialists

Any more views on ATS Specialists & Oxbridge - I'm also a shareholder...

 

[anley]

Any more views on ATS Specialists & Oxbridge - I'm also a shareholder...

Sorry JR but the fact you've had to ask means that you've been scammed and your money is long gone. And if they or anyone else calls you up in the future offering some deal to get your money back you're being setup again.

 

[jeffatcam]

Hydrogain Technologies

I was sold shares in Hydrogain by cold calling. Shares were sold directly rather than through a broker. The phone call came from Spain and not the US. The money was send by bankers draft to a Florida bank. I did receive a share certificate in March - which is probably totally worthless and I have lost over $6000.

Does Hydrogain exist, if so why has nobody replied to at least 10 eamils to various names in the company on their website and other correspondance I have. I have had no response to telephone calls - just an answering machine.

I can only conclude that this company was set up as a boiler room scam so other people beware.

 

[aidan1970]

I was sold shares in Hydrogain by cold calling. Shares were sold directly rather than through a broker. The phone call came from Spain and not the US. The money was send by bankers draft to a Florida bank. I did receive a share certificate in March - which is probably totally worthless and I have lost over $6000.

Does Hydrogain exist, if so why has nobody replied to at least 10 eamils to various names in the company on their website and other correspondance I have. I have had no response to telephone calls - just an answering machine.

I can only conclude that this company was set up as a boiler room scam so other people beware.

Phone call from Spain...........bankers draft to Florida...........that should have been a clue. Your money is gone - it has been spent on booze, drugs and Floridian strippers. I am sorry for your experience and I hope you dont experience this again.

You will not get a reply from your emails and you will not get a return telephone call that is unless they want to try to 'sell' you something else. Hydrogain may exist on paper but that is all.

I lived for many years in south east Asia where alot of the boiler rooms are located. They are very creative in how they do business. The way they acquire data bases will amaze you - bribing people in banks, 5 star hotels, clubs, air lines, accountants, lawyers..........anyone who has access to lists of people with cash to spend are potential targets. Advertising in magazines is another way they do it and people respond who are interested in investments.

They even create legitimiate front companies in places like the USA or Europe and set up websites in order to create the image of the 'opportunity' they want to sell you.

They exist in countries where they can bribe the relevant authorities so that ensures protection.

I remember once meeting a guy who worked in one of these boiler rooms and he was proud of it - bought 3 houses with the money he made from robbing people blind and felt nothing whilst doing it.

The way to not get stung by these people is to only invest in shares of companies that are listed on large exchanges like the FTSE etc. The next time someone wants to sell you pre IPO stock that is set to explode and you are tempted then take that money to race track, buy a drink and see if your horse wins - at least you have a slight chance of winning and have some fun whilst doing it.

 

[bagm]

Intenx/Vitol

Hi guys how is everyone I am still pissed off of my 32k loss to vitolcapital.com and intenx.com has any one got news on these guys. I also noted that vitolcapital.com is up and running again with new links like forex.com does any body know if this is a scam
regards

They got me for 250K and they are definitely scam artists of the highest calaber. As part of their scam they even impersonated US feds regulatory officals. I sent the info to the FBI and that may be the reason they shut down Intenx web site last week. I have tried every Police/bank for action but have had no success as the fraud was conducted off shore.

 

[looker1]

As aidan 1970 has pointed out, your money looks like its done i'm afraid, the reason I asked about the method of purchase is that in reality, shocking as it may seem, anyone can set up a company and sell shares to the public in it, you dont need to be a broker, or have a licence, and as a result, you have absolutely no protection at all. If a company is genuinely going to float on an exchange, the issue would be handled by a brokerage house, the bigger the better from the companies point of view. Also, you would see at least some independant press regarding thier iminent floatation. Selling stock in an unlisted company is not illegal, neither is selling it without a licence, under these kind of circumstances, it is down to the individual to do their own due diligence behind the company promotors. Buying a Florida company off the back of a Spanish phone call should have raised a few eyebrows though, I'm based in Spain, and there are a number of very large real brokerage houses here that deal in US stocks, but not 1 will sell you a pre IPO thats going public and going to the moon!
As someone else here said, Buy only reg A or blue chip, large quoted companies, if its a boiler room calling you, they wont be able to sell it to you, it involves to much exposure to them. If someone is proposing a venture capital deal, (like Hydrogain) understand that you can, and probably will lose all of the investment, even in the real venture capital world.
It can be safe to buy stock on the phone, I do still now, just listen to what someone is trying to sell you though, read the terms and conditions, and if you've never heard of it and it has no news on it, then its unlikely you will see your money again.

I was sold shares in Hydrogain by cold calling. Shares were sold directly rather than through a broker. The phone call came from Spain and not the US. The money was send by bankers draft to a Florida bank. I did receive a share certificate in March - which is probably totally worthless and I have lost over $6000.

Does Hydrogain exist, if so why has nobody replied to at least 10 eamils to various names in the company on their website and other correspondance I have. I have had no response to telephone calls - just an answering machine.

I can only conclude that this company was set up as a boiler room scam so other people beware.

 

[Elsa]

Ats

Thanks guys re. Oxbridge. You are of course correct. Further digging proves ATS Specialists and their website is a sham. The supposedly independant "investment services" is in cahoots and Oxbridge have made plenty of money and I guess will continue to do so. Good site I wish I had come across it earlier, as we all say.

Ken
Wish i had joined up to T2W sooner and perhaps I could have avoided being drawn into ATS. Have had similar experience to others in being sold Pegasus then transfered to ATS. Currently Oxbridge pushing for more purchase on the back of "99% guaranteed" return of $27 for $5 outlay based on purchase by a "US Mutual fund". Too good to be true! Fingers burnt, but no more.

 

[bagm]

Sino Intermediaries

Has anybody come across a company called Sino Intermediaries supposedly based out of Taipei Taiwan pushing share in a company prefloat for listing on AIM on the London exchange or the ASX in Australia, the company is called Greater China Berverage Holdings Ltd. Initially it was supposedly a part of Richard Branigans Virgin Blue companies which was established to get a toehold in China for distribution of a number of soft drink companies for the China Olympics. I bought 30k worth of shares recieved them and get regular updates with brochers and videos. They were supposedly floating in October but have now come back for a second bite to invest further funds minimum 100k for shares I suspect a rat can anyone help me as they still have not gone to ground.

 

[anley]

Has anybody come across a company called Sino Intermediaries supposedly based out of Taipei Taiwan pushing share in a company prefloat for listing on AIM on the London exchange or the ASX in Australia, the company is called Greater China Berverage Holdings Ltd. Initially it was supposedly a part of Richard Branigans Virgin Blue companies which was established to get a toehold in China for distribution of a number of soft drink companies for the China Olympics. I bought 30k worth of shares recieved them and get regular updates with brochers and videos. They were supposedly floating in October but have now come back for a second bite to invest further funds minimum 100k for shares I suspect a rat can anyone help me as they still have not gone to ground.

Again, the fact that you're having to ask means that you've been scammed, sorry.

I really hope you haven't given them the other £100k yet?

 

[looker1]

Has anybody come across a company called Sino Intermediaries supposedly based out of Taipei Taiwan pushing share in a company prefloat for listing on AIM on the London exchange or the ASX in Australia, the company is called Greater China Berverage Holdings Ltd. Initially it was supposedly a part of Richard Branigans Virgin Blue companies which was established to get a toehold in China for distribution of a number of soft drink companies for the China Olympics. I bought 30k worth of shares recieved them and get regular updates with brochers and videos. They were supposedly floating in October but have now come back for a second bite to invest further funds minimum 100k for shares I suspect a rat can anyone help me as they still have not gone to ground.

Hi Bagm,

By the sound of things, you are being taken for a ride, the fact that the company is quoting a float in october, and yet doesnt know which market it will be on is the big giveaway, The veteran member pointing out that if you have to ask its obvious I can appreciate isnt helpful, I would suggest though that you post all the websites names and numbers that you have for the companies involved, that way, if anyone else searching for info might come accross it, and avoid making the same mistake, also, sometimes you get the odd journalist trawling the rooms for a story, if they find a juicy one, with a lot of info, they follow it up, and a few more fraudsters get shut down.
Post, if you can, who called you, there company, suppossed address, (these are often business centres, which will close there psuedo offices if they think there is fraud going on), Web addressess, company registration, and individual names.
Granted, it is unlikely to get you your money back, I admit that, but if you had seen a bad experiance from someone else before you bought, you wouldn't be here.
I got conned long before these chat rooms were around, and boy have they saved me from a few mistakes over the years! Thats not to say I've never made another bad investment, but information is the key, If you have some, do us all a favour and share it with us.
Looker1

 

[anley]

Hi Bagm,

By the sound of things, you are being taken for a ride, the fact that the company is quoting a float in october, and yet doesnt know which market it will be on is the big giveaway, The veteran member pointing out that if you have to ask its obvious I can appreciate isnt helpful, I would suggest though that you post all the websites names and numbers that you have for the companies involved, that way, if anyone else searching for info might come accross it, and avoid making the same mistake, also, sometimes you get the odd journalist trawling the rooms for a story, if they find a juicy one, with a lot of info, they follow it up, and a few more fraudsters get shut down.
Post, if you can, who called you, there company, suppossed address, (these are often business centres, which will close there psuedo offices if they think there is fraud going on), Web addressess, company registration, and individual names.
Granted, it is unlikely to get you your money back, I admit that, but if you had seen a bad experiance from someone else before you bought, you wouldn't be here.
I got conned long before these chat rooms were around, and boy have they saved me from a few mistakes over the years! Thats not to say I've never made another bad investment, but information is the key, If you have some, do us all a favour and share it with us.
Looker1

No, it's not helpful that I'm sometimes hard, I am truly sorry for the loss that some people have have because it really can happen to anyone, including myself - we only have to drop our guard by 1% for these scammers to be 'in'.

However, I have been a long term poster to this thread for one simple reason to help people who are ABOUT to be scammed so that they stop before it's too late.

And I hope that my goal has been achieved.

 

[peto]

However, I have been a long term poster to this thread for one simple reason to help people who are ABOUT to be scammed so that they stop before it's too late.

And I hope that my goal has been achieved.

I'm sure it has, anley. How many people have googled this way, maybe not left a message, but torn up the cheque before posting it?

 

[aidan1970]

No, it's not helpful that I'm sometimes hard, I am truly sorry for the loss that some people have have because it really can happen to anyone, including myself - we only have to drop our guard by 1% for these scammers to be 'in'.

However, I have been a long term poster to this thread for one simple reason to help people who are ABOUT to be scammed so that they stop before it's too late.

And I hope that my goal has been achieved.

Check out the New Zealand SEC website - they list Sino Intermediaries as a boiler room.

Taiwan is a safe haven for boiler rooms. As someone stated a company that has serious plans of floatation know which exchange they will list on before approaching investors. I also I think it was stated that the company had something to do with Richard Branson - somehow I think that anything he would be involved in would be handled by a large investment bank as the lead in the floatation and not some outfit out of Taiwan who are cold calling people.

The money is lost - do not give them another 100k and make them smile more this Christmas.

For the future when some one cold calls and you are tempted then check which country the company is registered and order the last 5 years of financial statements for the company. A company that is going to float on an exchange has to show a history of growth and increased profitability. Just doing that would stop alot of people losing money to these crooks.

Best advice of all in my opinion is stick to stock that listed on the FTSE or somewhere like that and never part with your hard earned cash on the strength of an incoming phone call touting an opportunity of a life time.

 

[ns1000]

Has anybody come across a company called Sino Intermediaries supposedly based out of Taipei Taiwan pushing share in a company prefloat for listing on AIM on the London exchange or the ASX in Australia, the company is called Greater China Berverage Holdings Ltd. Initially it was supposedly a part of Richard Branigans Virgin Blue companies which was established to get a toehold in China for distribution of a number of soft drink companies for the China Olympics. I bought 30k worth of shares recieved them and get regular updates with brochers and videos. They were supposedly floating in October but have now come back for a second bite to invest further funds minimum 100k for shares I suspect a rat can anyone help me as they still have not gone to ground.

It's almost certainaly a scam, as everyone has commented. You could try sounding very interested in the 100k deal, but only if you can get your money out of the first tranche. There's a slight chance they might try and scam you into transferring the larger amount by returning your 'profits' from the first deal. If you get your money back, take it and walk away. If not - at least you haven't lost another 100.

 

[patglanville]

ATS / Oxbridge

Well folks, I have just had a share certificate couriered to me for the ATS specialist shares. I can't work out where it originated from though. I did make it clear there were no more investments from myself so do you think they would have cut their losses and not bothered with the share certificate.

 

[yaphoo]

How to sell restricted shares from intersecurity (ixsv)?

To all


3. And today I got a call from Newbridge international (they've been on this thread before). I was speaking with Harry Summers, this time they're touting inter security holdings (IXSV). www.ixsv.net. The phone call ended abruptly after I mentioned that he wasn't the first man with a northern accent to cold call me this week, touting US shares that are about to skyrocket.

Just thought I'd let people know as I think this thread is really useful and has probably saved a lot of doing something stupid, (like buying restricted shares in an ipo of a company that will never be listed...)

We have done the mistake and holding restricted (ixsv) shares!! But the company is already registered.

We would like to sell the restricted shares? Any suggestion's?

 

[carlosd]

Atlantic Capital Management

Not sure if it's been posted here before but heres another one to be wary of:
Atlantic Capital Management website www.atlantic-cm.com
Got a cold call from a Mr Frazier touting mobilemail website www.mailsms.co.uk.

According to Mr Frazier, I just missed out on this one moving from 10p to 101 in the last month, but if i get on now just before the "big corporates" get in he has an upper margin of over 300 for this stock, but being that this is our first time dealing together he would like me to invest £5000 to start with just so that he can show me how much money he will earn me ( i love that one), he will advise me when to sell, better still he will advise me to sell just before these mystical "big corporates" do, so that i can maximise my returns.
What a nice man.