The breathless message, from Bob to Wallace, contained a nugget of apparent insider information: "CRSVF is going to explode. Don't tell anybody about this opportunity. When this stock moves . . . watch out!

This is your chance to get in low. Put CRSVF on your radar's now and reap the benefits early."

CRSVF is the stock ticker for Capital Reserve Canada, a $9m stock market minnow that sells equipment to the oil and gas industry. The shares are worth $0.25 but the email's mysterious senders are talking about a jump to $2.40.

Of course, it was all too good to be true, nothing more than a desperate effort to pump and dump a stock by sending out spam e-mails in the hope that some would find their way to people greedy and gullible enough to fall for the trick.

The Financial Regulator has been fighting an ongoing battle against the con men behind unauthorised boiler rooms based overseas that seek to cheat Irish investors.

But as soon as it blows the whistle on one outfit, another pops up somewhere else.

"We can't pursue them because we can't find them, " a spokeswoman said.

"That's why we issue warnings when we become aware of a firm acting without authorisation.

Investors have got to be very careful and be aware that the techniques used by these people are getting more sophisticated all the time."

REMORTGAGING FOR THE YOUNG

FIRST-TIME house buyers are topping up their mortgages just three years after moving into their homes, suggesting that many people are using the rising value of their homes to dig themselves deeper into debt.

The gap between the age of the average house buyer and the age at which they remortgage has dropped sharply in the last year, according to IFG Mortgages, which says the average top up now exceeds 200,000.

People's willingness to remortgage so quickly reflects the big compromises they have to make to get on the property ladder at all says Shane Connole, head of sales at IFG. "An increasing number of firsttime buyers are buying what they can afford and remortgaging as soon as possible to extend or upgrade the property to bring it up to a reasonable level, " he says.

"While most of us struggled to qualify for our original mortgages, with a three-to-five year track record behind us, most banks are now lining up for our business, so ultimately it's never been easier or cheaper to remortgage."

DON'T BITE OFF MORE THAN YOU CAN CHEW WARNING . . . shopping around for a better deal on financial products can damage your credit rating.

Borrowers can make big savings by picking the right personal loan or credit card but experts in the UK have found that making speculative applications can count against you in the future.

The findings emerged in a study by Bristol Business School which investigated the increased use of the websites and the impact of the declined applications on credit scores.

The research showed there was a growing problem of people applying for credit cards or loans when they have no real chance of being accepted by the lender. A full application, successful or not, is logged with the credit agencies and can count against any future applications for credit.

Professor Merlin Stone of the Bristol Business School, said: "It is misleading to encourage people to apply for a rate which they will not qualify for and which in turn will impact their credit score.

"Perversely this worsens an already difficult position and is against the interest of the consumer."