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Exillon Energy Plc - beware boiler room scammers selling these shares
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Rich Harris (Citywire)
Posted: 26 May 2011 09:55:21(UTC)
#1

Joined: 08/06/2010(UTC)
Posts: 126
Last week we published an <a href="http://citywire.co.uk/money/az-markets-and-andreas-braasch-scam-warning/a493587">article warning Citywire readers to steer well clear of AZ Markets and Andreas Braasch</a>, two elaborate boiler room scam operations touting Glencore shares.

Now that Glencore has floated, they appear to have moved on to Exillon Energy Plc (<a href="http://www.citywire.co.uk/money/share-prices-and-performance/share-factsheet.aspx?InstrumentID=1137">EXI.L</a>), a British listed oil company. We haven't spoken to Exillon yet but have sent them (and the FSA) details.

As ever, if you receive a call from someone trying to sell you shares in Exillon or any other company, it's a scam. Don't be fooled.

My tip-off came from someone who was about to hand over a significant sum of money to Andreas Braasch, but saw our scam warning after googling the company's name and called to thank us. However the real credit belongs to the readers (Bob Lewis, sharw and Chris Marsden) who brought it to our attention in the first place.

So if you get a call from boiler room scammers, do please pass on as many details as you can to us so we can warn others - you'll be making their lives more difficult and potentially saving others from the agony of being ripped off by these utter b******s.
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Rich Harris (Citywire)
Posted: 26 May 2011 11:02:53(UTC)
#2

Joined: 08/06/2010(UTC)
Posts: 126
The FSA have just got back to us - they can't go into any details about whether or not they're investigating AZ Markets and Andreas Braasch, but did confirm that they'll be putting an alert up soon.

They also reiterated their standard warning about boiler room scams: "Boiler room fraudsters often sound like the real deal so it’s easy to be drawn in by their professional and high pressure sales tactics. In reality however, the shares are worthless or don’t exist and the money is lost forever. You should be vary wary if you receive a call out of the blue offering you shares."
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Truffle Hunter
Posted: 26 May 2011 13:47:36(UTC)
#3

Joined: 14/11/2010(UTC)
Posts: 7
On the subject of scams there is another possible one involving trading in Carbon Credits. One of the phone numbers used is 0203 514 0511. It is being presented a great way to earn 25% + annual returns. When you phone this number out office hours it rings in another country. They use VOIP which means they could be scamming from outside the UK. Tread with care if you get a call.
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Truffle Hunter
Posted: 26 May 2011 13:47:36(UTC)
#4

Joined: 14/11/2010(UTC)
Posts: 7
On the subject of scams there is another possible one involving trading in Carbon Credits. One of the phone numbers used is 0203 514 0511. It is being presented a great way to earn 25% + annual returns. When you phone this number out office hours it rings in another country. They use VOIP which means they could be scamming from outside the UK. Tread with care if you get a call.
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Dave Duffy
Posted: 26 May 2011 14:10:25(UTC)
#5

Joined: 14/05/2011(UTC)
Posts: 53
I was travelling back from the Trader's Expo in Westminster back in April and got a call from one of the Boiler Room Muppets telling me so much wonderful news about a company I had never heard of, and how well I would do if I invested in it.

After he had rabbited on for about 10 minutes and started asking me how much I would like to invest, I said "Diddly Squat mate, but how about you turn over a Hundred Grand to me and I will try my luck on the spread-betting for you?"

End of phone conversation and no more cold calls......
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steven fieldfare
Posted: 26 May 2011 15:11:36(UTC)
#6

Joined: 11/07/2010(UTC)
Posts: 9
Update on Talvest. April's pitch was for Ballard Power Systems. Disappointed to learn from breathless and conspiratorial pitch that only on offer was inside info on new power station contracts!!!!!! Sometimes seem to refer to themselves as Global Investment.
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sharw
Posted: 27 May 2011 12:49:00(UTC)
#7

Joined: 07/12/2010(UTC)
Posts: 10
At last a result!

It was back in November 2009 that the alarm was raised about a company called Inca Pacific which had terribly exciting prospects in extracting gold in Mongolia:

http://boards.fool.co.uk...1735254.aspx?sort=whole

Yesterday it was reported that 15 people were arrested in Spain:

http://www.thisislondon....urt-over-shares-scam.do

Well done Operation Archway.

Note - they are appealing for anyone who bought shares in the companies involved (Dyno Medical, Inca Pacific Gold and Mining and Viking Gold Resources ) to come forward. Boiler Room Fraud is one of those crimes where victims are reluctant to admit that they were conned.
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Maverick
Posted: 29 May 2011 16:37:00(UTC)
#8

Joined: 04/10/2010(UTC)
Posts: 59
Exillon Energy appears to be a decent enough company, and certainly exists - but I still can't see why anyone would agree to buy shares from a cold caller by telephone, rather than from a pukka online stockbroker, after doing your own due diligence.

Just say to the cold caller "I never buy anything by telephone."

And I always give a fictitious telephone number if I'm asked to give one online. I get quite enough spam e-mails without having to cope with spam phone calls.
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Dave Duffy
Posted: 29 May 2011 17:20:22(UTC)
#9

Joined: 14/05/2011(UTC)
Posts: 53
Maverick, (or anyone else who gets spammed too much)

Don't know if you are aware but easy way to get away from all the spam emails is to use Mailinator.com

You don't need to sign up for an account and so there are no passwords, so it is okay for just signing up for general sites or receiving a few introductory links/emails without getting all the spam emails when you unsubscribe.

No good for anything secure though.
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