Oct. 4 at 2:57 PM
$CISO Billions Lost by Investors as Meme Stock Scams Surge: 'Pump and Dump' Schemes on the Rise
The FBI has seen a 300% increase in victim complaints about pump-and-dump stock fraud in 2025 compared to 2024, with fraudsters increasingly using social media and messaging apps to target retail investors.
Investors lost about
$3.7 billion in July 2025 when seven obscure Chinese penny stocks listed on Nasdaq crashed by over 80% following aggressive social media promotion.
Nasdaq has proposed stricter listing requirements for Chinese companies, including a
$25 million minimum for public offering proceeds, in response to the rising prevalence of market manipulation schemes.