MS Securities Regulator

FINRA Warns of Fraudulent Phishing Emails Purporting to be from FINRA

FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 20-12 warning member firms of a widespread, ongoing phishing campaign involving fraudulent emails purporting to be from FINRA officers including Bill Wollman and Josh Drobnyk. The emails use the domain '@broker-finra.org' which is not connected to FINRA. FINRA has requested suspension of the malicious domain and recommends deleting emails from this source and verifying the legitimacy of any suspicious emails before responding, opening attachments, or clicking links.

State-Registered Advisers Alerted to SolarWinds Breach

The Mississippi Secretary of State's Office, Securities Division, has issued an alert notifying state-registered investment advisers and intrastate broker-dealers about the SolarWinds cybersecurity breach first reported in December 2020. The alert encourages any firm with known malicious versions of SolarWinds Orion software to report the incident to their primary securities regulator. The Division links to CISA guidance and provides its contact information for reporting purposes.

Phishing Campaign Alert Using gateway-finra.org Domain

FINRA issued Regulatory Notice 21-20 warning member firms of an ongoing phishing campaign using the fraudulent domain "@gateway-finra.org." The fake emails impersonate FINRA compliance examiners and request firms click links to "complete" compliance requests, warning of penalties for late submission. FINRA has requested the domain registrar suspend services for gateway-finra.org and reminds firms to verify email legitimacy before responding.

Mississippi Securities Act Rule 6.14 Investment Adviser Representative Continuing Education

The Mississippi Secretary of State adopted Mississippi Securities Act Rule 6.14, establishing new annual continuing education requirements for investment adviser representatives. The rule requires all state-registered and federal covered IARs to complete 12 CE credits annually using courses from NASAA-compliant providers. Affected professionals must ensure their CE activities meet these requirements for calendar year 2022 and subsequent years.

Romance Scams Alert: Protect Against Investment Fraud

The Mississippi Secretary of State Securities Division issued an investor alert in May 2022 warning about romance scams that lead to investment fraud. Government agencies report people lost over $1.3 billion to romance scams in the past five years, more than any other FTC fraud category. The alert describes common tactics fraudsters use, including leveraging online relationships to promote fraudulent investment schemes involving cryptocurrencies and digital assets.