New stock market scam: As opposed to the "pump and dump" maneuver of the 1980's, a number of scam artists are using the "short and distort" trick wherein they sell a company's stock short, then spread false malicious rumors about the company's health thus allowing the scammer to pocket the difference. This works especially well in these economically fragile times when many investors are inclined to believe that companies are doing more poorly than is publically acknowledged.