Two ‘unauthorized’ banks are contacting consumers, likely with ID theft motive, OCC warns in alerts

Two alerts sent out Thursday and Friday by the national bank regulator warn of two fictitious entities that falsely purport to be national banks and are likely seeking to perpetrate identity (ID) theft.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said the two fictitious entities call themselves “FNB” and “Amarico Trust Bank” (which brands itself “AmTrust Bank”).

FNB

Friday’s alert (2021-6) said FNB has been robocalling and robotexting consumers to obtain information to likely perpetrate ID theft. This entity is not affiliated with a legitimate financial institution, the OCC said, nor is it a licensed or chartered bank.

The OCC said consumers have reported receipt of one of the following messages:

• Text: “This message is to inform you that your loan application of 6000 has been approved by FNB Please call 5183365672 from 10am to 7pm EST Reply STOP to be removed”
• Voice: “Greetings from FNB. Your loan application of $6,000 has been approved and is ready to be deposited in your bank account on file. For verification, please give us a call at 518-336-5677. I repeat 518-336-5677.”

The agency said the individuals communicating these messages are likely using various numbers besides those noted above. “Consumers should consider any messages received by this entity to be fictitious and should not respond,” it said.

Amarico Trust Bank (AmTrust Bank)

In Thursday’s alert (2021-5), the OCC reported that Amarico Trust Bank, an inactive institution, is also misrepresenting itself as a national bank. It said the entity has been using a foreign-hosted website designed to obtain information to likely perpetrate ID theft.

Amarico Trust Bank has purported to be a financial institution offering business banking services, the OCC said, but it also is not a licensed or chartered bank.

The domain used by this fictitious entity is [amaricotrustbank.com], which contains spoofed information, including a mailing address, of a legitimate financial institution, the agency said. “Consumers receiving email correspondence from this entity should consider the messages to be fictitious and should not respond.”

Where consumers can report contacts from FNB and Americo Trust Bank is detailed in the two alerts.

Alert 2021-6 (“FNB”)