There are a couple of obvious issues with this move, however.

Firstly, the SEC has to be alerted of these stock scams. This is a reactive process where samples of the scam need to be submitted to the SEC for analysis. One of the issues with this is that when the spam sample is submitted, it is not known what stage the scam is currently at. In other words, was this the spammer's last spam run on this stock and they are ready to cash out? Has the spammer already cashed out before the sample gets submitted to the SEC? The SEC has put it itself squarely in the middle of a cat and mouse game where it will be constantly chasing the tail of people who will remain one step ahead of them.

Secondly, and this is a more remote possibility however the risk exists nonetheless, but what is the process in the event of a stock's trading being falsely suspended? What are the safeguards in place in order to prevent a competitor company of a publicly traded penny stock from pumping in an effort to get its' trading suspended? What retribution is given to the company who suffers possibly irreparable damage to its reputation because its' stock was suspended falsely? Is it moreso than the damage caused by a stock that is successfully pumped and dumped leaving a number of investors high and dry? We'll have to wait and see.

Despite the issues that the SEC has to tackle with what they are proposing, I give high marks and praise to them for starting to take a stand and do something about this issue. Banks, brokerage firms, and other financial institutions have been spending a lot of time and money in efforts to curtail losses and refunds given to customers who fall victim to these types of scams. It is clear that the solution is going to have to come from a higher governing authority, and I applaud the government's efforts for jumping in with both feet in an effort to help. Only time will tell whether or not their efforts end up bearing fruit.