I got the following spam today:

Hi Jim,

I hope this is your email. I received some inside information from Mr. John Connely (GE Technology) about IVHN. Don't tell anyone about that chance.



Trade Alert: THURSDAY, August 31, 2006 -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
Company: Innovation Holdings
Ticker: IVHN
Current Price: $0.055
Target Price: $0.7
Recommendation: STRONG BUY
Wednesday Volume: 3,757,250 (Heavy)
Buy: "STRONG" Expectations: Max ________------------__________


I suggest you to buy that stock immediatelly.

Waiting for your response

Sincerely,
Chris Talbot

I'm not sure what's funnier: the idea that a stockbroker would write in e-mail that he "got some inside information," that he would name the person who supposedly passed along the illegal tip, or that anyone could possibly take this seriously.

[HELPFUL TIP: If you're planning to do something illegal, like trade on inside information, remember that e-mails are easy to recover and use as evidence. If you happen to be a stockbroker, you may want to keep in mind that brokerages are required by federal regulation to log and monitor all e-mail messages both incoming and outgoing.]