Cold-calling con artists trade on greed to trick clients

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, but you have to act fast," says the caller. "I have a dozen other people interested in this stock so, if you want a piece of the action, you'll have to mail the £5,000 cheque immediately."

Unfortunately, this is not a scene from a film but a conversation recounted all too often to Central Bank officials by misled investors.

Shady "cold calling" salespeople are trading not in shares but on consumers' greed and innocence about the stock market.

The Republic's new affluence and low savings rates means more individuals are switching out of bank deposits into shares. However, the average investor's knowledge about the markets lags their increasing income and makes them prime targets for con artists.

Since gaining powers to identify illegal operators, the Central Bank has named and shamed more than 50 such operators.

"The practice is very prevalent and it worries us that we only hear about it after the event. There's very little we can do if people are sending out cheques and haven't seen paperwork or contracts," said a Central Bank spokesman.

In many cases, cold-callers use share registers - which are public information - to obtain the address or phone number of unsuspecting investors. In this line of business, all the "broker" needs is a phone and a laptop computer. The caller usually offers the consumer a special deal in shares of a well known US or European high-tech company.

Confidence tricksters always use a hook and in this case it's the name of a familiar sounding, high performing stock.

The Internet is another vehicle used by rogue stock traders. The Central Bank says this is a big concern because the electronic medium is more difficult to regulate.

"A site simply providing information is not breaking the law unless it is directly targeting this jurisdiction and is not authorised by the Central Bank," says a spokesman. The Bank is in discussions with other countries to develop international agreements on Internet fraud.

Stock-related Internet bulletin boards can be used by dubious operators. Often, the individual will talk up a particular share to create excitement on the board and later offer it at a knockdown price for participating Web-surfers.