NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Chinese companies with unreliable financial statements are involved in scams targeting U.S. investors, according to a published report.

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USA Today reported Monday that the schemes rely on inexpensive stocks for shell companies that trade on the over-the-counter bulletin board or pink sheets. The stocks often trade on little more than hype, the paper said.

The paper said regulators with the Securities and Exchange Commission are proposing to tighten reporting rules to deal with recent abuses involving Chinese companies. In a proposal out for public comment, it would require "reverse-merger" companies to disclose full financial information within four days of a deal, rather than the 71 days now allowed.

In a reverse merger, a private company merges into an existing public "shell" company that has no known assets or liabilities. Small companies seeking to go public without going through the IPO process sometimes use this method.

The government regulators also want an end to shell-company stock sales through the employee-benefit plan loophole now being used by some of the companies. The loophole allows the resale of stock to the public without registering it with regulators or providing buyers with a prospectus, the SEC says.