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News and Issuances
Alert 2013-2
Subject: Fraudulent Regulatory Agency Issuance
Date: March 11, 2013
Description: Fraudulent Correspondence Attributed to Officials of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

Fraudulent Correspondence Regarding the Release of Funds Supposedly Under the Control of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

To: Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks and Federal Savings Associations; All State Banking Authorities; Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Chairman, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Conference of State Bank Supervisors; Deputy Comptrollers (Districts); Assistant Deputy Comptrollers; District Counsel; All Examining Personnel; and Other Interested Parties

Fictitious correspondence, allegedly issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) regarding funds purportedly under the control of the OCC and other government entities, is in circulation. Correspondence may be distributed via e-mail, fax, or postal mail.

Any document claiming that the OCC is involved in holding any funds for the benefit of any individual or entity is fraudulent. The OCC does not participate in the transfer of funds for, or on behalf of, individuals, business enterprises, or governmental entities.

The correspondence may indicate that funds are being held as a requirement for an issuance of a Money Laundering Clearance Certificate in reference to a release of funds and that the beneficiary is required to pay a mandatory processing/issuance fee to have the funds released. The recipient is also instructed to submit a copy of his/her passport for identification purposes.

Attached is a copy of this fraudulent correspondence, which is being sent to consumers in an attempt to elicit funds from them and to gather personal information to be used in possible future identification theft.

The correspondence in question may contain forged signatures of former or current OCC officials. In addition, the material contains both an e-mail address and telephone number that are not associated with the OCC.

Before responding in any manner to any proposal supposedly issued by the OCC that requests personal information or personal account information or that requires the payment of any fee in connection with the proposal, the recipient should take steps to verify that the proposal is legitimate. At a minimum, the OCC recommends that consumers

  • contact the OCC directly to verify the legitimacy of the proposal (1) by e-mail at occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov; (2) by mail to the OCC’s Special Supervision Division, 400 7th Street, SW, Suite 3E-218, Mail Stop 8E-12, Washington, D.C. 20219; (3) by fax to (571) 293-4925; or (4) by calling the Special Supervision Division at (202) 649-6450.
  • contact state or local law enforcement.
  • file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov if the proposal appears to be fraudulent and was received by e-mail or the Internet.
  • file a complaint with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service by telephone at (888) 877 7644; by mail at U.S. Postal Inspection Service, 222 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1250, Chicago, IL 60606-6100; or by the online complaint form at https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/forms/MailFraudComplaint.aspx, if the proposal appears to be fraudulent and was delivered through the U.S. Postal Service.

Any information regarding the subject of this or any other alert that you wish to bring to the attention of the OCC may be sent to occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov.

 

Ellen M. Warwick
Director for Enforcement and Compliance


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