Did you log into your Zerodha account and find trades you do not remember placing?
Maybe you noticed investments you never intended to make. Maybe your portfolio suddenly looks different from what you expected.
Or maybe you have suffered losses because of Zerodha account handling, and you are trying to figure out how those trades ended up in your account in the first place.
At this point, you are probably asking yourself:
- Did I approve these trades?
- Why was this transaction placed?
- Who made these decisions?
- Is my account being handled the way it should be?
If you woke up to an empty demat balance or a negative ledger due to trades you never approved, you are facing a severe regulatory violation.
Do not panic; SEBI has strict protections to help you reverse unauthorised trading transactions
Can Someone Else Handle Your Zerodha Account?
If you are worried about activity in your account, this is probably one of the first questions on your mind: is account handling allowed in Zerodha?
The short answer is no!
To clarify this, the advice and account operations are not the same thing.
You may have spoken to an advisor, dealer, relationship manager, or support representative. That’s completely normal. But talking about investments is very different from someone actually making trading decisions in your account.
Victims often trust their sub-brokers blindly and do not realise they have been manipulated into sharing credentials.
So if you are looking at trades and thinking, “I don’t remember approving this,” it’s worth taking a closer look at what happened.
Many account handling complaints start exactly this way. An investor notices activity that feels unfamiliar and starts wondering how it got there.
Unauthorised Trades in Zerodha: What the Numbers Tell Us About Account Handling
For many people, the first sign of a problem is finding trades they don’t recognise.
Maybe it’s one transaction. Maybe it’s a series of trades that don’t match your investment goals. Either way, once you start questioning a trade, it’s natural to start questioning how your account is being handled overall.
The following complaint data shows the number of unauthorised trading complaints reported against Zerodha.
| Year | Total Complaints | Unauthorised Trading Complaints | Percentage of Unauthorised Trading Complaints |
| 2025-26 | 734 | 89 | 12.12% |
| 2024-25 | 1,075 | 129 | 12.00% |
| 2023-24 | 567 | 43 | 7.50% |
| 2022-23 | 446 | 40 | 8.90% |
These numbers don’t automatically mean every complaint was valid. But they do show that investors continue to raise concerns about trades they believe were not properly authorised.
If you’re currently trying to understand unusual activity in your own account, you’re certainly not the only person asking these questions.
Incidents of unauthorised trading by Zerodha reported by users often stem from a mix of system glitches, communication gaps, or compromised login credentials.
Why Unauthorised Trading Often Raises Bigger Questions?
When you first discover a trade you don’t recognise, your attention usually goes straight to the money.
- How much was invested?
- Did I make a loss?
- Can I reverse this?
But after that, another question often comes up: “Who decided to place this trade?”
And that’s where account handling concerns begin.
The issue isn’t always the trade itself. Sometimes the bigger concern is whether decisions were being made in your account without your clear approval.
If you’ve ever looked at a transaction and genuinely couldn’t explain why it happened, you already understand why account handling and unauthorised trading complaints are often connected.
When Can You Take Action Against a Broker?
Not every unusual transaction means something improper happened.
But there are certain situations where it’s reasonable to start asking questions.
1. You Found Trades You Don’t Remember Approving
This is one of the most common concerns investors face.
If you’re looking at transactions and honestly can’t remember approving them, don’t ignore that feeling. Go back through your order history, emails, contract notes, and messages.
The sooner you start reviewing the activity, the easier it may be to understand what happened.
2. Your Investments Look Nothing Like What You Wanted
Imagine you wanted relatively stable, long-term investments.
Then you open your account and see frequent buying and selling, speculative trades, or investments that don’t match your goals at all. Most people would immediately ask: “Why is my money invested in this?”
If your portfolio looks very different from what you intended, it’s worth finding out how those decisions were made.
3. It Feels Like Someone Else Is Making Decisions
Getting investment suggestions is normal.
But if you feel like somebody else may have been directing activity in your account without getting your approval for each transaction, that’s a different issue altogether.
If that’s what you’re experiencing, it’s important to review the account activity carefully and understand how those trades were authorised.
4. The Trading Activity Seems Excessive
Have you noticed constant buying and selling in your account? Does the activity seem far more aggressive than your usual investment style?
Excessive trading can increase costs and expose you to risks you never intended to take. If you’re struggling to understand why so many transactions were placed, it’s worth taking a closer look.
5. Money or Securities Moved Without a Clear Reason
Few things are more concerning than seeing funds or securities move when you don’t understand why.
If you’ve noticed transfers or movements that you weren’t expecting, review your records immediately and make sure you understand exactly what occurred.
How to Escalate a Zerodha Complaint?
If you’re concerned about how your account has been handled, don’t rely on memory alone. Start gathering records while the details are still fresh.
Here are the steps to file stock broker complaint:
1. Secure Your Account Immediately
Before doing anything else, change your account password and review your account security settings.
If your broker provides two-factor authentication (2FA), ensure it is enabled and functioning properly.
If you suspect that someone may have gained access to your account, consider changing any related login credentials and reviewing connected devices or third-party access permissions.
2. Collect Everything
Gather all evidence, including:
- Contract notes
- Ledger statements
- Trade history
- Emails
- SMS alerts
- Screenshots
- Payment records
- Any communication relating to the disputed transactions
The more information you have, the easier it becomes to understand what happened.
3. Contact Zerodha and Raise a Written Complaint
Explain the issue clearly and identify the transactions or activities that concern you. Whenever possible, communicate in writing and retain copies of all correspondence.
4. Register a Complaint with SCORES
If the issue remains unresolved, investors can escalate the matter through SEBI’s SCORES platform.
Filing a Zerodha complaint to SEBI online ensures that the regulatory body officially tracks your grievance and forces a formal response from the broker.
Providing clear facts and supporting evidence can help regulators understand the dispute more effectively.
5. File a Report in SMART ODR
SMART ODR provides an online dispute resolution framework for investors and intermediaries.
This can be an important step when earlier complaint mechanisms have not resolved the issue.
6. File Arbitration in Stock Market
If the dispute remains unresolved, arbitration may become necessary. A well-prepared case supported by clear evidence can play a significant role during the proceedings.
Remember that in case of unauthorised trading or account handling, if you don’t challenge it within the exchange-mandated window (typically 15 days from receiving the contract note), your case loses significant weight.
Need Help?
Discovering unauthorised activity in your Zerodha demat account is terrifying, but the regulatory systems are built to protect you if handled correctly.
If you are unsure of the technical legalities involved in a Zerodha money recovery process, you don’t have to navigate it alone.
Through strategic filings across SEBI SCORES and Formal Arbitration, we have successfully helped distressed investors resolve disputes and recover over ₹11 Crore in wrongfully drafted or traded funds to date.
Don’t let technical bureaucracy block your financial recovery. Let our legal content experts evaluate your ledger trail.
Register with us now.
Conclusion
If you’ve found activity in your Zerodha account that you can’t explain, don’t ignore it. Ask questions, review the records, and save the evidence.
And most importantly, trust your instincts if something genuinely doesn’t look right.
You don’t need to immediately assume wrongdoing.
But you do deserve clear answers about what happened in your account and why.
