A pair of AIM–listed oil companies may take legal action against users who posted “defamatory and untrue” postings on two bulletin boards.

US-focused Nighthawk Energy and Nostra Terra Oil and Gas have gained court orders telling those responsible for the boards - Interactive Investor (iii) and ADVFN - to name the guilty parties.

“The postings concern the operations of Nighthawk and its management which the board considers to be extremely damaging to the company and its reputation,” Nighthawk said Monday.

Those involved have now been identified and both companies are considering whether to start civil proceedings against them for defamation.

Nostra’s shares have slumped 89% since November and Nighthawk is down 45% in less than 10 months.

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ADVFN has already complied with a number of court orders this year demanding the identity of users be made available.

Boards were hugely popular during the tech boom of the late 90s and early 2000s, but they became susceptible to “ramping”, where someone submits a post containing false information that they hope will artificially boost the share price.

They might also try and push prices lower by inventing rumours designed to scare investors into selling, maybe if they have a short position themselves, or if they want to buy at a cheaper price.

http://www.digitallook.com/cgi-bin/dlmedia/security.cgi?csi=216128&action=news&story_id=3623922

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Be well