Overview
On April 30, 2026, FINRA released a one year progress report on its efforts to protect investors through “FINRA Forward.” FINRA Forward is a comprehensive series of initiatives launched by FINRA in April 2025 to improve investor protection through updating FINRA rules and guidance, strengthening support for member-firm compliance, and expanding cybersecurity and fraud prevention. FINRA’s April 2026 report detailed FINRA’s achievements, actions, and key areas of focus during its first year in action. Among other things, the report identified two key threats for investors involving cybersecurity and imposter website fraud threats.
Cybersecurity and Imposter Website Fraud Threats
According to the report, cyber threats have increasingly targeted financial institutions with shared infrastructure, such as cloud services, authentication platforms, and communications tools, among other software providers. Imposter websites have emerged as a significant threat to investors and firms. Fraudsters often use the real names of financial advisors on their fraudulent websites to entice victims into investments. In one instance, FINRA noted that criminals created an imposter website of a FINRA member firm’s clearing and custody partner to dupe a financial representative into entering secure credentials, which resulted in an unusual order for a large number of shares in a client account that FINRA determined was part of a market manipulation scheme.
FINRA’s Efforts to Combat Cybersecurity and Imposter Website Fraud Threats
To combat cybersecurity and imposter website fraud threats, FINRA has expanded its offerings and resources to help member firms better prepare for and protect themselves and their customers. For instance, FINRA searches the web for fake websites, and alerts firms of websites that are falsely marketing financial representatives. From January 2025 through March 2026, FINRA and its member firms identified close to 600 imposter websites seeking to harm public investors. During this same period, FINRA sent close to 70% of its member firms at least one alert about a threat impacting their firm and suggestions for mitigating potential harm. FINRA is also partnering with the FBI and industry experts to provide webinars and trainings on emerging cybersecurity risks.
Impacted Investors
If you have lost money in an investment account due to a cyber-attack or a fraudster utilizing an imposter website, do not hesitate to contact our office at 800-556-3526 or complete our contact form for a free consultation. We work on a contingency fee basis to try to recover losses. In other words, if we do not obtain a recovery, you do not owe us any legal fees. Act before time runs out on your claim.