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Strategies & Market Trends : Aardvark Adventures -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ~digs who wrote (1544)	9/28/2005 11:28:06 AM
From: paret	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7944

Brokerage warns of identity theft Associated Press/NEW YORK SEP. 27, 2005 Brokerage customers with accounts at RBC Dain Rauscher were asked Tuesday to be on the lookout for a suspicious letter warning of identity theft at the firm. The letter, signed by a purported self-described "disgruntled employee," have so far been mailed to about 100 clients based in the United States. The Minneapolis-based brokerage has some 300,000 accounts, mostly in North America. RBC Dain Rauscher has launched an investigation into the source of the letter in partnership with the FBI and local police. A spokesman for the company said customers have been advised to put any such letters in plastic bags so that law enforcement can dust for fingerprints. "This suspected criminal activity is something we're taking very seriously," said RBC Dain Rauscher CEO John Taft in a statement. "We are working closely with the FBI on our investigation. So far, there is no evidence of fraudulent activity." Taft said that any client who receives a suspicious letter should contact RBC Dain Rauscher immediately. The company has mailed letters to all of its clients about this matter and has set up a 24 hour-a-day resource center hotline to help clients who may be impacted by this situation. Identity theft has become even more alarming for consumers in recent months with disclosures of data losses or possible breaches at CitiFinancial, Time Warner Inc., Wachovia Corp. and Ameritrade Holding Corp. Nearly 10 million people fall victim to identity theft annually, costing consumers $5 billion in out-of-pocket losses and businesses $48 billion, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center estimates that the average victim spends 600 hours trying to clear up credit problems. The San Diego-based center helps people recover from the crime. Shares of Royal Bank of Canada, the brokerage's parent, rose $1.29, or 1.8 percent, to $73.56 in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.