You may be a victim of securities broker or dealer fraud if your broker has been taking certain fraudulent actions with regard to your account, often without your permission and/or knowledge. For instance, if your broker is making constant trades without your explicit authorization, his or her conduct may violate federal and/or state securities laws, for which there are potentially serious civil and criminal penalties. Another common example is the type of investment activity that has occurred on your account. If you instructed your broker to place your assets in relatively safe investments, in an attempt to preserve your assets for impending retirement, your broker would violate the law if he or she instead invested your assets in highly speculative, risky business securities. Similarly, if your broker engaged in very risky margin trading with respect to your account, but did not explain the risks to your investment that might result from such trading, your broker may be guilty of securities fraud.