Don’t Believe Caller’s Stock Tip, SEC Warns

U.S. securities regulators issued a warning Thursday about a scam in which investors are tricked by a “wrong number” on their answering machines to make questionable stock buys.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it had received hundreds of complaints from people who received the calls at home or on their cellphones, said Susan Wyderko, head of the SEC’s investor education office.

The calls, made by a woman supposedly calling one of her friends, refer to a tip from “a hot stock exchange guy I’m dating” and say the company is about to announce news that will boost its stock price.

“We believe ... that the messages are widespread, reaching coast to coast,” Wyderko said. “It’s important to never buy stocks on the basis of hot tips.”

The people leaving the messages are probably trying to drive up the price of the stock because they own shares and hope to sell them at a profit, Wyderko said.

Wyderko said that the phone messages were touting the stocks of six to eight small companies and that their share prices had risen, presumably because of the calls. She declined to identify the stocks, saying the agency did not want to affect their trading.

People who receive a message can report it to the SEC by calling (800) 732-0330.