I agree.... Also, I don't understand why etrade would wire money out to any account other then the one on record. Thats nuts.... I thought brokers only wired money back into the account that you wired the money from....with your name on it to boot.... I just say a commercial where etrade is offering a security device that changes your password everytime you log in... HSBC business accounts do this as well.... protty good but it can all be solved if they simply only wired money to the checking account on record...it's such a simple solution....i don;t get it... Anyway good luck to all...hope you get your money back... Nick
======= I] like the FBI/police dept /SEC report; and certified,return reciept letter.Am not sure how your cash was taken -wire or check.?????Sounds like a pattern here. 2 ]Closed my Etrade account years ago, because of perhaps legal but uncompetitive ETRADE behavior, they charged me $$ for telephone supposedly toll free stock quotes which they never disclosed until i got my statement.They did however give me $50 for opening an account as promised. 3]Would also mention may report it to 4 local TV newstations, & all 4 national networks, in certified letter.Continue to keep us informed on this big news story.
Not that it helps much now, but here is a link to the SIPC about brokerage fraud. They don't help in this case, but there is some info. And a link to IB's Secure Transaction Program. They give you a identity device that would have stopped this fraud. Seems like IB is always a little ahead of the others. Now if they would only come up with a solid TWS and not change the damn thing every week! http://www.sipc.org/media/release11dec03.cfm http://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/secureTransactionProgram.php
Also, I think the ET community would be interested to know how the heck they got into your accounts? Did you receive a "phishing" email a few days/weeks before, like someone posted, and enter your account and password#s? Or did they break in some other way? Here is a link to a fraud watch that lists the Etrade scam: http://www.fraudwatchinternational.com/internet/phishing/index/etrade.shtml
That's what they all should be doing. I don't know about Etrade, but some brokers only require the account holders name to = yours, with no pre-authorized ABA/account numbers listed in the signed account agreements.
A lot of fraud lately is not even coming for your own control. I had charges on my credit card for 200 in total. It was used 5 times in 2 days at the same place 3000 miles away from me. I think some of the hackers are breaking into there systems and they just blame us.
FWIW, because of this thread, I called my broker and told them that I was worried about something like this happening to me, and I told them that under NO circumstances were they to do anything with my money except mail me a check, in my name, to my address. They noted my account, and agreed to this setup. This limits my ability to get at my money, but I don't care. Better safe than sorry. Remember, someone in another country can get a wire transfer in your name, and still get your money.
E*Raid... defin. a deal the nasd arb has to settle. But be vocal about your story and let everyone know the new name- "E*Raid"
the etrader fraud look just like the real thing, I would be fool if I don't pay close attention https://us.etrade.com/e/t/estation/help?id=1220204000 come to think of it I would be fool if I use trade alert feature.
thanks for all the responses, concerns about the fraud in my Etrade brokerage account. to answer some of your questions: looks like the money was taken via electronic transfer. my transaction history shows 2 "ACH Withdrawals", a day apart. i don't remember getting any alerts from Etrade prior to this. (Etrade has this security warning about getting alerts to harvest information). to date, i am not getting any response from Etrade. they keep saying we are investigating and someone from the risk dept. will be calling you. will keep you posted.