finra's gerri walsh talks about the dangers of pre-i.p.o. investing. >> before facebook's recent i.p.o., which made headlines around the world, some investors were looking for shares of the private or pre-i.p.o. stock of facebook and other social media companies. but social media has also become the latest hook on which con artists can hang a scam. pre-i.p.o. speculation involves buying unregistered shares in a private company before the initial public offering of securities, and it can range from risky deals to outright frauds. fraudsters would have investors believe that virtually anyone can get in on pre-i.p.o. deals of small, little-known start- ups, as well as those of large, popular companies. in reality, unless you are an employee or an angel investor, you are unlikely to have access to pre-i.p.o. shares. and even legitimate pre-i.p.o. investments can be fraught with risk, including the fact that you can't be certain the company being touted will actually go public. so, while the idea of getting in the ground floor of a pre-i.p.o. com