Brokerage houses are facing more and problems with criminal rings hacking into brokerage accounts. The latest involve criminals from offshore sites, including Lithuania, Latvia, the British Virgin Islands, India and others. The criminals use the money in your account to buy a stock and run up its value, or they wire money out of your account to use however they please. There are technologies available that help protect your account such as an electronic key. You simply plug it into your computer wherever you are, and then you enter your user name and password. It proves that you are authentic and no one else can get into your account without the key. Current technologies are too vulnerable. In addition, brokerage houses are under no legal obligation to repay you what you lost if someone breaks into your account. So, check your brokerage account often and check for pending sales or changes in your balance information.