Someone reportedly is emailing consumers regarding funds purportedly being held for them by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). OCC issued an alert to regulators and financial institutions Thursday warning of the scam.
“Consumers have reported receiving fictitious e-mail messages, allegedly initiated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), regarding funds purportedly under the control of the OCC,” the agency wrote in Alert 2018-9. “Any communication 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 agency says consumers have reported receiving email messages from the following email addresses, neither of which is associated with the OCC: [treasurydepartment@cyberservices.com] and [ddw@occ-treas.org]. The communication may include a fictitious “Letter of Authorization” with a signature name of “Anhar Tonny Coptalen, Comptroller General Of The Currency.”
“The perpetrators may request, among other data, bank account information, including bank statements, with the purported purpose of making a large dollar deposit into the potential victim’s account,” the alert warns. Additional details are offered on how to report these incidents and what consumers should do if they have provided their bank account information.