TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., the third-biggest online brokerage, said computer hackers penetrated an internal database and used stolen e-mail addresses to inundate customers with stock tips.
The scheme was discovered after clients complained of receiving unsolicited e-mails touting stocks, the Omaha brokerage, which is partly owned by Toronto-Dominion Bank, said Friday.
Kim Hillyer, a TD Ameritrade spokeswoman, said assets in client accounts were not affected. She would not say when the addresses were stolen or when the "spam" tips were sent.
Unauthorized programming language was discovered on the company's computers "in the last couple of weeks," she said.That language has been eliminated and TD Ameritrade has taken steps to prevent a repeat incident.
