The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1928-11-15
TIPSTERS ACTIVE
THROUGHOUT STATE
Department of Commerce Is
sue farming Against
Fakirs in State -.
HAVE HAD BIG HARVEST
Methods are Exposed So Citi-
ems May Assist in Combat
ting Fake Stock Sales

The following letter from the
Securities Division. of the Depart
ment of Commerce, State of Min
nesota, is self-explanatory, and
should be carefully read and heed
ed by everyone. Accompanying the
letter, which we give in its entire
ty below, is long list of organi-
cations which are not licensed to
sell or offer for sale securities of
any kind in this state, and if you
are solicited to purchase any ques-
tionable securities drop in at youl
bank and ask to see the list of or
CARNATIONS under the ban in this
state before buying. Such an &C
ton may save you money. The
letter follows:
During the past few months
Minnesota has been flooded with
literature from various organiza-
tons which purport to be advisers
of those who wish to invest their
money. These organizations put
out what is commonly known as a
"Tipster" sheet, and are principally
looted in New York, Massachusetts,
and New Jersey. They are barred
from the use of newspaper adver-
Using as an avenue to reach the
investor and are barred by the Sc
curities Commissions of the vari-
Gus states from doing business
therein, but nevertheless they con-
tinue to mail into this and other
states large quantities of advertis-
ing their method of approach has
been very successful in spite of the
efforts made to eliminate them.
Briefly, their procedure is as fol-
lows:
A list of prominent citizens or
stockholders in some corporation is
obtained and these citizens are sent
an invitation to subscribe for the
"tipster" service for a short period,
say thirty days, at a nominal price
of $1.0O. It is represented that
the said service is worth all the
way from $25 to $3.50 a year. The
subscriber then receives daily bull
letin, the greater portion of which
is devoted to general market news
and advice regarding legitimate
stocks, but included therein is Of
ten a questionable security which
the ''tipster" is personally interest
ed in distributing. This bulletin is
followed with a telegram to the
subscriber advising that he pur-
chase some unlisted stock and in
forming him that the "tipSter" has
inside information that the stock
is going to advance rapidly in the
immediate future. These tele-
grams are usually followed by long
distance telephone calls from New
York or some point in the East
urging the subscriber to buy the
said stock Immediately, agreeing to
buy the same for him, and asking
that the money be either tele-
graphed or sent at once.
Investigations of these organiza-
tons in New York show that the
"Tipster" has usually obtained a
large block of stock in some Ques-
tionable company and is attempt
ing to push it out to the public in
this manner. Huge profits on these
stocks make the expense of solicit
tation no obstacle. These organi-
cations are, in many cases, fictit-
ious in character and they have
been known to move from place to
place and change names frequent
ly. Their methods, however, are
all somewhat similar to those above
outlined.
None of these organizations are
licensed by the Commerce Com