Another scheme used by thieves involves Fraudulent ANTI-TERRORIST STOP ORDER letters, purportedly sent by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). These letters are being sent to bank customers. Copies of these ANTI-TERRORIST letters have been received by FinCEN that notify consumers that mandatory fees, in amounts of approximately $25,000, are required for the issuance of a ANTI-TERRORIST CERTIFICATE before transactions may continue to be conducted.
These letters were NOT sent by FinCEN and represent a fraudulent attempt to elicit funds from customers. Please see FinCEN’s Website to see an example of one of these letters. Consumers should NOT provide any information nor send any funds, to any address as indicated in these letters. Further, consumers should NOT follow any instructions contained in these letters to access their accounts on-line.
Further, there are instances in which other letters are being circulated which claim that FinCEN is freezing assets and endorsing investment schemes. FinCEN does NOT have authority to freeze assets and does NOT endorse investment schemes.
FinCEN is working closely with law enforcement agencies to identify the source of these letters and disrupt these scams. Until this is accomplished, if consumers receive any letters such as these, or experience any similar attempts to obtain account information or funds, they are requested to notify FinCEN at [email protected].
A fraudulent email purporting to be from the American Bankers Association (ABA) is asking consumers to provide personal account information, including their Social Security numbers and credit card information. ABA did not – and would not – authorize such a communication. Similar so-called “phishing” incidents have been increasingly common on the Internet, targeting banks and other institutions – and even the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently. ABA is working with law enforcement officials to identify the source of the emails and to disrupt transmission.