In the past, it was noticed that through bulk SMSes, investors were induced to invest in or purchase the stocks of certain listed companies. The next bit isn’t clear, but Durov reportedly claimed that his resignation, dated March 21st, was an April Fools’ prank. TechCrunch implies that it was a matter of principle, but it’s hard to be clear on the wheres, whos and whys. Similarly, on April 17th, the Moscow Times quoted Durov as saying that he quit the company after being pressured to reveal account details about Ukrainians protesting the then-president Viktor Yanukovych. Perpetrators of such fraud use various marketing techniques to attract subscribers on their social media channels. "Your messages about the movement of the enemy through the official chatbot … bring new trophies every day," the government agency tweeted. Friday’s performance was part of a larger shift. For the week, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 2%, 2.9%, and 3.5%, respectively.
from nl