SEC sets up its own investment hoax on the Web, complete with leptins - Page 2© Alan Kotok
Page 2
Feb 9, 2002
Serious investors would have noticed some immediate irregularities in the site and the release. First, the release's headline said that the SEC pre-approved the IPO, a function the SEC has never provided. Also, it said that the company president would give a news conference at SEC headquarters. If the SEC rented its facilities for company investment press conferences, it would hardly be in a position to regulate those companies or investments. Finally, the company's investment relations manager, according to the release, was named Kelly Green (the color of money). In the three days after the SEC distributed the release, the McWhortle site received over 150,000 hits, according to the SEC. PRNewswire volunteered its services to help in this educational effort. The SEC did not play along prospects too far. Anyone who ventured beyond the initial pages to learn more about the investment got routed to a page headlined, " If you responded to an investment idea like this ... You could get scammed!" The page then explains that the company and the IPO are complete fabrications, pointing out the tell-take signs of investment frauds, and providing places to check up on the veracity of investment offerings, through the SEC or state regulators. The best piece of advice still is, "If it seems to good to be true, it usually is." Links Securities and Exchange Commission: http://www.sec.gov/ McWhortle Enterprises: http://www.mcwhortle.com/ North American Securities Administrators Association: http://www.nasaa.org
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