True, and that's also why it's good with some accounts like my ETRADE acct, to lock up your shares in a limit sell order set at a high (like $5) ask price so the shares aren't floating (in cyber space) and can't be monkeyed with. I haven't checked recently, but ETRADE used to be very penny/short friendly and I suspect they may still be. Some like Scottrade claim to not allow shorting of pennies. I think there should be a law that forces all to follow their lead, but apparently the SEC doesn't want to work very hard. If you don't have a police force, the thugs will have a field day whether it's illegal or not.