FINRA Warns Investors of Email Hack Attacks

WASHINGTON – The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today issued a new Investor Alert called Email Hack Attack? Be Sure to Notify Brokerage Firms and Other Financial Institutions. FINRA has received an increasing number of reports involving investor funds being stolen by fraudsters who first gain access to the investor's email account and then email instructions to the firm to transfer money out of the brokerage account.  Email Hack Attack? warns investors about the potential financial consequences of a compromised email account and provides tips for safeguarding your assets.

FINRA has also issued a Regulatory Notice highlighting some of the risks associated with accepting instructions to transmit or withdraw funds via email and recommending that firms reassess their policies and procedures to ensure they are adequate to protect customer assets from such risks.

"Investors who suspect that their email account has been hacked should immediately notify their brokerage firm and other financial institutions, and anyone who suspects they have been defrauded should file a complaint with FINRA," said Gerri Walsh, FINRA's Vice President for Investor Education.

Email Hack Attack? teaches investors how to tell when their email account has been hacked and informs them of the steps they should take if their personal financial information has been stolen. The Investor Alert also links to a joint fraud alert issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and Internet Crime Complaint Center (I3C) that describes a similar trend in which hacked email accounts are being used to facilitate wire transfers.

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business – from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms, writing rules, enforcing those rules and the federal securities laws, informing and educating the investing public, providing trade reporting and other industry utilities, and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and firms. For more information, please visit www.finra.org.