Before you become too excited about the hype involved with buying penny stocks, you need to understand why this hype persists: fraud. Long before the Internet, penny stocks were ripe with fraud and the Internet has only made the propagation of such fraud more widespread and persuasive.

Penny stocks are particularly susceptible to scams because they are traded on over-the-counter (OTC) exchanges like the OTCBB (Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board) and Pink Sheets. These exchanges do not exercise the same restrictions as the major exchanges like the NASDAQ and NYSE (New York Stock Exchange). Additionally, these quotation services do not require the share poster to provide as much detail on the stock, so you often do not have the same level of data as you’re provided by default on a major exchange.

Furthermore, the companies traded as penny stocks tend to be much newer and smaller entities. This means it is more difficult to find and validated substantial data on the corporate structure, history and road map forward.

There are a number of different scams oriented around exploiting inexperienced stock investors. These scammers prey on these new investors because they are easily fooled into thinking a stock called a “penny” stock somehow involves less risk. Unfortunately, it is just the opposite.

From the pump and dump to the chop stock, these scams have been refined for decades, and even though they have existed for a long time, they still work. So next time you see a ton of hype about making a lot of money fast with microcap stocks, you should really exercise a healthy amount of skepticism before you act.

You can still make a ton of money buying penny stocks if you know how to steer clear of all the scams. Learn the specific penny stock scams and how they work: visit Buying Penny Stocks.