WSJ Article on Oil Future Scams

["Laurence Glavin" <lglavin@lycos.com>]

I was feeling a little flush today (03/19) because of all
the money I saved using newspaper coupons.  So I sprung  (sprang?)
for today's Wall Street Journal.  On page C!, the 'Money & Investing"
section there appeared an article about certain scams related
to turmoil in the oil industry.  The medium of radio was
prominently mentioned.  Under "fair use", I'll quote a
couple o f paragraphs because the WSJ's web page is
proprietary.

The headline is : "Energy Scams Make A Comeback"

   Using war as an excuse, the hucksters who 
   work the fringes of the energy markets are more 
   active than ever. Web sites, mass e-mailers,
   telemarketers and radio advertisers promising
   big returns in oil and natural gas investments
   are having a field day...
The next two paragraphs comment on how this phenomenon 
is not new and feeds on dissatisfation with the returns
of traditional investments.  Back to the article:

   Regulators are currently investigating boiler
   rooms and companies using radio ads and internet 
   sites to promote their schemes...
   The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has
   noticed a pickup in Internet and radio-based ads
   since November and has several under investigation.

The article concludes with a reference to a specific scammer
and the reolution of a case.  Notice how RADIO was a prominent
medium along with the Internet as a frequent source of 
these pitches?  Is there someting about RADIO "management"
that winks at such promotions?  As far heating oil and 
unleaded gas futures   are concerned, it's "will the check clear?".


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