A stock promoter is someone who promotes a stock

Stock

The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...

, ultimately attempting to persuade others to purchase it so that its price goes up. Stock promoters first relied on cold calling prospective investors to acquire stock in a company, and then later moved on to using the Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

, which provides for a much more efficient method of promoting a stock to a wider audience. Stock promotion is a generally illegal and fraudulent activity. Usually, stock promoters promote penny stock

Penny stock

In the United States, penny stocks are common shares of small public companies that trade at less than $1.00. In some countries, similar shares of stock are known as cent stocks.-Concerns for investors:...

s because of the difficulty in finding information on these companies as they are normally listed on the OTC Bulletin Board

OTC Bulletin Board

The OTC Bulletin Board or OTCBB is an interdealer electronic quotation system in the United States that displays real-time quotes, last-sale prices, and volume information for many over-the-counter equity securities that are not listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange or a national securities exchange...

 or Pink Sheets

Pink Sheets

OTC Markets Group, Inc., informally known as "Pink Sheets", is a private company that provides services to the U.S. over-the-counter securities market including electronic quotations, trading, messaging, and information platforms. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, OTC...

, which do not require that companies provide as much financial information as other exchanges, such as the NYSE.