I admire the stamina you have to stand up to such rampant negativity.
I have no idea who is guilty or not, and some days it can be hard to tell the difference between sinister and simply stupid. lol
Sadly, VMS is not the only company suffering from such cyber attacks, but thankfully;
As we've all heard:ASIC and Federal Police are cracking down on fake accounts which attack a stock on social media to drive the price either up or down for ANY reason.
What the headlines focus on:Is the pump-n-dumpers.
But actually:The focus of the investigation is market manipulators in ALL forms of sharemarket misconduct, not just the fake bids & suspicious trading action (like we've seen with VMS and several other mining stocks who are being unlawfully attacked by political protestors), but also
deliberate misinformation (aka black propaganda), deceptive conduct
and they also specify "misleading statements" as mentioned
HERE on the ASIC Website.
By definition, this also includes trolls who attempt to impact the share price of a stock, for ANY personal, political or commercial reason. That link also includes an
application for immunity, but only
to the FIRST (and no other subsequent)
member of an organisation or charity
who reports any of the others for
attempts at sharemarket manipulation.
BUT... and here's the clincher...
immunity can only be granted to the first person inside an organisation who steps forward to provide evidence
BEFORE an investigation is launched.
Penalty:When convicted, fines start at $1Million for the organisation AND up to 15 years in jail for the individuals.
What the Investigators are seeking:* Tips on suspected culprits
* Screenshots as a starting point for investigation
* Any relevant trading information on stocks, such as VMS, which have suffered sustained attacks.
Screenshots & Videos:If you happen to be watching the market, and you are seeing repeated suspicious bids, then you can record the trading action as a video using free software (eg the free version of Nimbus from any app store, or the basic screen recorder which comes with your mac or pc)
Report to: 1) ASIC if the activity takes place on (or impacts) the ASX:
https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/contact-us/how-to-complain/report-misconduct-to-asic/2) Federal Police as well, if it occurs on any social media and the suspect is not known to be a shareholder or stockmarket participant
https://forms.afp.gov.au/online_forms/report_a_crime/report_details?crime-type=2651 & Tick "Report a Commonwealth Crime" and in the details state that it is against an Australian Company and the asx.
3) Crimestoppers if you wish to remain anonymous: 1800 333 000
As it states in all of our broker agreements, we are all obligated to report any suspected instances of market manipulation (or attempts at it).
After all, a failed attempt at a crime is still punishable by law.
And only one cyber troll will get a chance at immunity - but I dare say they'll need to be quick.NOTE: ASIC is responsible for granting civil immunity, while the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) is responsible for granting criminal immunity. However, ASIC also works with and provides input to the CDPP on applications for criminal immunity.
So to any VMS trolls, uprampers or downrampers; if you know you have a clean conscience, cheers & best of luck to you. Or....
to paraphrase the ASIC website: If you have participated in a market attack (against VMS or any other public listed company), an application for immunity can be made by either:
dyor & gla
(20min delay)