An encouraging article about stock spam at the Register suggests that stock spam may not be working as well as it once did. According to their study, a number of recently-touted stocks have failed to perform after being pumped. Some have even lost money. It looks as if the spammers may finally be running out of naive investors willing to bet cash on an anonymous tip. Alternatively, the sheer volume of spam and the elaborate measures the spammers use to try to evade spam filters (rendering the messages nearly unreadable) may be working against them.

It's premature to declare the end of stock spam. Spammer logic dictates that if you fail to make a profit, it can only be because you didn't send enough spam. In the short term, volumes may rise even more. There is, however, some small satisfaction in the thought that some stock spammers may be getting left holding worthless paper and that the Johnny-come-latelies in the stock spam game may have spoiled it for the established players.