What is "pump and dump"

n. 1 (context finance English) A form of financial fraud where the fraudster buys stocks cheaply, generates artificial excitement about those stocks to create a temporary price increase, then sells the stocks before the price goes back down 2 (context slang English) A situation where a person have sex with a partner on a single occasion, without immediate intention of further contact or pursuing a serious relationship. vb. 1 To use a breast pump and then discard the milk, typically because one has had an infection, or been drinking alcohol. 2 (context transitive slang English) To have sex with a partner on a single occasion, without intention or prospects of further contact, or engaging in a serious relationship.

"Pump and dump" (P&D) is a form of microcap stock fraud that involves artificially inflating the price of an owned stock through false and misleading positive statements, in order to sell the cheaply purchased stock at a higher price. Once the operators of the scheme "dump" sell their overvalued shares, the price falls and investors lose their money. Stocks that are the subject of pump and dump schemes are sometimes called "chop stocks".

While fraudsters in the past relied on cold calls, the Internet now offers a cheaper and easier way of reaching large numbers of potential investors.