Brokerage Account Statements: Investor Alert
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has issued an Investor Alert called “It Pays to Understand Your Brokerage Account Statements and Trade Confirmations.”
Investors are advised to carefully review their brokerage account statements every month, not just to confirm the balance but to also look for errors or signs of unauthorized trading or overcharges.
Signs of Brokerage Account Fraud
FINRA warns investors to be aware of statements that appear unprofessional or altered in any way, since this may be a red flag for fraud. In some cases, according to FINRA, fraudsters simply cut and paste the logo of a legitimate firm onto their own bogus statement.
Other signs of fraud mentioned by FINRA include:
- No specified end date or statement period on your statement.
- End dates or statement periods that don’t follow a consistent pattern (such as the last day, last business day or last Friday of each month).
- Account number that doesn’t match previous statements.
- Wrong or outdated address, which could hamper delivery of account information.
- Incorrect or outdated account ownership information.
- The financial professional’s name is unfamiliar to you.
- A phone number that is out of service or always busy or not answered.
Read more from FINRA’s guide, “It Pays to Understand Your Brokerage Account Statements and Trade Confirmations.”
Contact Fort Lauderdale securities attorney Howard N. Kahn, Esq., if you or someone you know has been the victim of fraud or unauthorized trading in regard to an investment or brokerage account. Mr. Kahn is an experienced securities attorney and FINRA arbitrator. You can him at 954-321-0176 or online.