The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has raised concerns about energy traders engaging in market manipulation through 'spoofing', artificially inflating prices on wholesale markets. Market manipulation involves illegal trading practices that create a false impression of supply and demand, leading to artificially high prices. This harms other traders and consumers who end up paying more. ACM is monitoring the behavior of energy traders closely and may impose fines for violations. The warning aims to deter such behavior and protect the integrity of the wholesale energy market. The affected industries include energy trading and wholesale energy markets. The legal areas involved are competition law and market regulation. The main legal issue is market manipulation through spoofing.