Avra Inc. $AVRN Pumped by WhatsApp spam

The SEC has been cracking down on email stock promoters over the last few years and there are only a couple effective email stock promoters left. Part of the problem is that using email to pump leaves lots of traces — to avoid spam filters the promoters need to use email services (like iContact) that will keep records of their names and payment information. If the SEC or DoJ investigates manipulation in a stock or illegal selling of unregistered shares it is relatively easy to locate the promoters. Spam promotions have worked in the past but it is very hard to beat modern spam filters (and of course spamming is treated as a more serious crime than stock manipulation).

Some intrepid promoters figured that the best way to avoid those problems of email is to just avoid it and instead use a messenger program, in this case WhatsApp. Many people were spammed with messages promoting Avra Inc (AVRA) this morning. What followed was a quick spike and massive dump. Expect more such WhatsApp spam promotions in the future.

Below are some screenshots of the WhatsApp spam messages shared on Twitter:

 

 

 

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Below is the intraday 1-minute chart of AVRN

avrn_chart

Disclaimer: I have no position in AVRN although if it spikes again I will likely short it.  I have no relationship with any parties mentioned above. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

ElitePennyStock Paints target on its back: Best stock promoter out there

Disclosure: I’m short ElitePennyStock’s current promotion, AREN. See details at bottom.

In a world in which ever more promoters and manipulators have not just been sued by the SEC but sent to prison by US Department of Justice it is a dangerous thing to be known as the best stock promoter. But with Stocktips.com having spectacularly failed in their most recent pump (of Coastal Integrated Services, COLV), ElitePennyStock is now in my opinion the best promoter out there. As detailed in a blog post by Tim Grittani (use code NEXT100 to save on his DVD), ElitePennyStock (and I use this name to refer to the people that run all the related websites) has ties to AwesomePennyStocks. See also the Promotion Stock Secrets research report on ElitePennyStock.

The two most recent ElitePennyStock pumps were American Leisure Holdings (AMLH) in January and February, and Media Analytics (MEDA) in December 2014 and January 2015. The AMLH pump lasted for 19 days prior to the big drop in price (note that the promotion continued through February 17. The MEDA pump lasted for 10 days prior to the precipitous drop (the last pump emails I received for MEDA came on December 19th).

amlh

meda

So far the AREN (America Resources Exploration Inc) promotion is on day 17. I believe it very likely that the end of this pump is quite near. See the Promotion Stock Secrets report on AREN if you care to learn the details on the insiders in the company and how it was set up to be a promotion.

aren

Interestingly, AREN filed a form 12b-25 with the SEC just before the market close today, indicating that they will not be able to file their quarterly report on time. I wonder if that may be another indication that the pump will soon be over.

 

Compensation: [different in emails from the different websites]
Promoter:  ElitePennyStock
Paying party: Intraday Holdings Ltd
Shares outstanding: 129,400,000
Previous closing price: $0.861
Market capitalization: $111 million

 

A Few miscellaneous notes

Penny stock gadfly and one-time stock promoter George Sharp threatened AREN with a lawsuit but never followed through.

goniffs

I cannot vouch for their reporting skill / reliability, but The OTC Today reported that FINRA had asked clearing firms Alpine and ETC to voluntarily restrict the sales of large blocks of AREN stock.

One of the ElitePennyStock websites has a nice little video promoting AREN here. ElitePennyStock is following the lead of StockTips by inventing a fake person to be the promoter, in this case, Keith Richie.

 

Disclaimer: I am currently short 5200 shares of AREN. I may cover those shares or short more in the days following the publication of this post. I have no relationship with any parties mentioned above. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

Black Stallion Oil & Gas $BLKG Promoted via online landing page

Over the last week Black Stallion Oil & Gas (BLKG) stock has gone from $1.70 to a high of $2.39 on modest (but increasing) volume. It has been promoted by emails from WallStreetReport.org, which also has a promotional video on their website and a positive report (PDF) on the stock. (I should add that they fail to disclose their compensation in that PDF report). See also the page you go to after leaving the video. Considering the relatively low-budget promotion and the large market cap I think it highly likely that BLKG will drop a lot in the next few days or weeks.

blkg

Disclosed budget: $50,000
Promoter:  WallStreetReport.org / Herwick Ltd
Paying party: Pansino Investments Ltd
Shares outstanding: 43,872,000
Previous closing price: $2.17
Market capitalization: $95 million

blkg

Excerpt from disclaimer:

WallStreetReport.org is operated by Herwick Ltd. (HL). … . HL expects to receive $50,000 (FIFITY THOUSAND DOLLARS) as a marketing budget for production and distribution of BLKG marketing material from an unaffiliated 3rd party, Pansino Investment Ltd. HL will manage this budget for production and distribution of any marketing materials for BLKG and intends to keep the difference between the budget received and production costs as compensation.

Full disclaimer (from landing page):

DISCLAIMER: This report is for informational purposes only, and does not represent a solicitation to buy or sell the profiled company’s securities, which trade under the symbol BLKG, nor any other securities. WallStreetReport.org is operated by Herwick Ltd. (HL). Neither HL nor its employees are certified financial analysts or licensed in the securities industry in any manner. The information in this marketing piece and any accompanying information is subjective opinion and may not be complete, accurate or current and was paid for directly or indirectly by shareholders of the profiled company who may or will profit as a result of the preparation, publication and distribution of this marketing piece and accompanying information. HL expects to receive $50,000 (FIFITY THOUSAND DOLLARS) as a marketing budget for production and distribution of BLKG marketing material from an unaffiliated 3rd party, Pansino Investment Ltd. HL will manage this budget for production and distribution of any marketing materials for BLKG and intends to keep the difference between the budget received and production costs as compensation. HL also expects to garner new subscribers as part of its efforts. This marketing piece contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. This marketing piece contains or incorporates by reference forward-looking statements, including certain information with respect to plans and strategies of the featured Company. As such, any statements contained herein or incorporated herein by reference that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believe(s)” “anticipate(s)”, “plan(s)” “expect(s)” “project(s)” “will” “make” “told” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual events or actual results of the Company to differ materially from these indicated by such forward-looking statements. Certain statements contained herein constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and 21E of the Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding business, financing, business trends, future operating revenues and expenses. There can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements ma de by the Company, or contained in this Report are not guarantees of future performance, and that the Issuer’s actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Difference in results can be caused by various factors including, but not limited to, the Company’s ability to be able to successfully complete planned funding agreements, to successfully market its products in competitive industries or to effectively implement its business plan or strategies. To reiterate, information presented in this Report contains “forward-looking statements”. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals, assumptions, or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, estimates, and projections at the time the statements are made that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those presently anticipated. Forward-looking statements in this Report may be identified through the use of words such as “expects,” “will,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “believes,” “may,” or by statements indicating certain actions “may,” “could,” or “might” occur. More information on the Company may be found at http://www.sec.gov; readers can review all public filings by the Company at the SEC’s EDGAR page. Chris Porter is a fictional name. The actor writing and performing under this name was compensated solely on a contract basis for participating in this campaign, therefore is not an employee of either Herwick Ltd, Pansino Investment Ltd. or a shareholder in any of the securities mentioned in this video.

 

PDF copy of landing page

Disclaimer: I have no position in BLKG although I am looking to short it. I have no relationship with any parties mentioned above. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.

Ecosciences Inc $ECEZ Online landing page pump

Ecociences (ECEZ) has received another round of promotion since the beginning of this week with an online landing page pump. You can see the promotion page at http://ecezreport.com/index.html. Those with good memories will remember that I blogged about this pump back at the beginning of June and since that time the compensation disclosed has not increased.

ecez_screenshot

Disclosed budget:
Promoter:  Wall Street Revelator / Andy Carpenter
Paying party:  ???
Shares outstanding: 101,751,500
Previous closing price: $0.482
Market capitalization: $49 million

 

Excerpt from disclaimer:

The advertiser anticipates managing a total production budget of $350,000 for this online advertising effort and will retain any amounts over and above the cost of production, copywriting services, mailing and other distribution expenses, as a fee for its services. The Wall Street Revelator and/or its publisher, Andrew Carpenter has received a total amount of eleven thousand six hundred and twenty five dollars in cash compensation to assist in the writing of this Advertisement, as well as potential future subscription and advertising revenues, the amount of which is not known at this time with respect to the publication of this Advertisement and future publications.

Full disclaimer:

MPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This sponsored advertising of Eco Sciences Inc. does not purport to provide an analysis of any company’s financial position, operations or prospects and this is not to be construed as a recommendation, or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. The “Company” featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, paid by a third party to provide public awareness for ECEZ. This Report has used outside research and writers using public information to create this advertisement. The third party owns no shares of ECEZ. Although the information contained in this advertisement is believed to be reliable, there can be no warranties as to the accuracy of any of the content herein and the publishers accept no liability for how readers may choose to utilize the content. Readers should perform their own due-diligence, including consulting with a licensed, qualified investment professional or analyst. Further, readers are strongly urged to independently verify all statements made in this advertisement and perform extensive due diligence on this or any other advertised company. The publishers are not offering securities for sale. An offer to buy or sell can be made only with accompanying disclosure documents and only in the states and provinces for which they are approved. Many states have established rules requiring the approval of a security by a state security administrator. Check with http://www.nasaa.org or call your state security administrator to determine whether a particular security is licensed for sale in your state. Many companies have information filed with state securities regulators and many will supply investors with additional information on request. The advertiser anticipates managing a total production budget of $350,000 for this online advertising effort and will retain any amounts over and above the cost of production, copywriting services, mailing and other distribution expenses, as a fee for its services. The Wall Street Revelator and/or its publisher, Andrew Carpenter has received a total amount of eleven thousand six hundred and twenty five dollars in cash compensation to assist in the writing of this Advertisement, as well as potential future subscription and advertising revenues, the amount of which is not known at this time with respect to the publication of this Advertisement and future publications. Andrew Carpenter has never owned, and never will own, shares, options or warrants in ECEZ. Further, specific financial information, filings, and disclosures as well as general investor information about publicly traded companies like ECEZ, advice to investors and other investor resources are available at the Securities and Exchanges Commission website www.sec.gov and www.nasd.com. Any investment should be made only after consulting with a qualified investment advisor and after reviewing the publicly available financial statements of and any other information about the company and verifying that the investment is appropriate and suitable. Investing in securities is highly speculative and carries a great deal of risk especially as to new companies with limited operations and no history of earnings. The information contained herein contains forward-looking information within the meaning of section 27a of the Securities Act of 1993, as amended, and section 21e of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding expected growth of the featured company. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include everything other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company’s actual results of operations. Forward-looking statements are based upon expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements may be identified through the use of words such as expects, will, anticipates, estimates, believes, or by statements indicating certain actions may, could, should, or might occur. Any statements that express or involve predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals or future events or performance may be forward-looking statements. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the publisher notes that statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the company’s actual results of operations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the size and growth of the market for the company’s products and services, regulatory approvals, the company’s ability to fund its capital requirements in the near term and the long term, pricing pressures and other risks detailed in the company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

ecez

 

PDF copy of landing page

 

Disclaimer: I am short ECEZ and intend to hold my short although it is likely I will be forced to cover some of my short in the next few days. I have no relationship with any parties mentioned above. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.