Fraud involving online brokerage accounts.

[Jim Nickerson]

Caution urged as online stock scams multiply
Regulators notice more fraud in recent months; companies' bottom lines hit


By Robert Schroeder, MarketWatch
Last Update: 6:00 PM ET Oct 27, 2006

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A growing wave of high-tech fraud is starting to add up to real losses in the online brokerage business, and sending clear warning signals to investors that they need to protect themselves from cyber-thieves after their cash.
Last week, E-Trade Financial Corp. said Internet fraud-related scams cost the company $18 million in the third quarter. And earlier this week, TD Ameritrade said fraud cost it $4 million in its fourth quarter. It's the first time either company has disclosed dollar amounts for fraud losses.
The disclosures painfully illustrate a burgeoning cost of doing business in the multibillion dollar online investing industry. For brokers-- who promise to make defrauded investors whole -- losses represent wasted assets. For shareholders, they mean a decline in profits. And for customers--10.2 million of whom have traded in the last three months--it's a heart-thumping threat to their savings. And no one expects this type of fraud to stop anytime soon.
"I think this is with us forever," says TD Ameritrade CEO Joe Moglia, adding that online brokers are treating fraud-fighting as a real priority. "You never become complacent."

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Stor...o&dist=myyahoo

This is a worthwhile story regarding people trying to steal your inflated bonars.

Has anyone had such an experience?