Boiler Room Fraud

The number of boiler room scams has increased substantially over the years, and with this has come confusion and false accusations against genuine professionals within the industry. St Pauls Chambers has experience in representing those facing such accusations.

What is Boiler Room Fraud?

Boiler room share frauds are the curse of investors. The operator will sell worthless shares at inflated prices to investors that are impossible to sell. A rising number of UK investors are being cold-called by fake stockbrokers looking to lure cash out of them. A broker, usually operating from an overseas firm, will cold call an investor and propose they buy shares in a particular company. The share has usually been ramped on online message boards. The company they are share dealing in will probably be listed on an illiquid market, so the shares cannot be sold, and the price will be hugely inflated.

What are the signs of boiler room fraud?

The firms will operate from boiler room ‘hotspots’, such as Spain, Switzerland, Dubai, Japan, Bermuda or the US, so they are outside of the remit of the Financial Services Authority. They will have a UK-listed address and a grand-sounding name to give an air of legitimacy. ‘Boiler room’ fraud owes its name to the highly pressurised sales technique employed by the broker. They can be forceful, persistent and highly aggressive. A common tactic is to create a sense of urgency about a stock, such as telling the investor it will explode any day so they need to invest quickly. For the 10 key signs of boiler room fraud, visit our recent blog post.