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Alert 2006-68 | December 6, 2006

Fraudulent Regulatory Agency Issuances: Fraudulent correspondence regarding the release of funds supposedly under the control of Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) officials

To

Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks; 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 and Examining Personnel

Please be advised that correspondence in the form of emails, faxes, and postal mail allegedly issued by the OCC regarding restricted funds supposedly under its control continue to circulate. Any documents claiming that the OCC is holding or has placed a hold on any funds for the benefit of any individual or entity are fraudulent. The OCC does not participate in the transfer of funds for, or on behalf of, individuals, business enterprises, or governmental entities. Additionally, the OCC does not establish, maintain, or control any deposit accounts for, or in the name of, any individuals, businesses, or governments.

The correspondence in question, which contain forged signatures of actual OCC officials, falsely claim that the OCC or other federal bank regulatory agency is holding payments owed by foreign governments or foreign organizations. The correspondence encourages the recipient to reply by telephone or email so that the funds can be released, warning that a delay in responding might cause the OCC to cancel the obligations due to the recipient. Of course, the email address, telephone and facsimile numbers, as well as physical address contained in the correspondence, are not those of any OCC office or official.

These emails are originating from many sources throughout the world. They appear similar to documents referenced in previous OCC alerts. See also OCC Alerts: 2005-12, 2004-3, 2004-11, 2001-5, and their attachments.

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, you should take steps to verify that the proposal is legitimate. At a minimum, the OCC recommends that you:

  • Contact the OCC directly to verify the legitimacy of the proposal, either: (1) via email at occalertresponses@occ.treas.gov; (2) by mail to the OCC's Special Supervision Division, 250 E Street, SW; Mail Stop 6-4, Washington, DC 20219; (3) via fax to (202) 874-5214; or (4) by calling the Special Supervision Division at (202) 874-4450;
  • Do not rely upon the contact information contained in the correspondence to determine whether or not a proposal is legitimate;
  • Review the OCC alerts and related information, which can be accessed on the OCC's website at: https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/alerts/2006/index-2006-alerts.html; and
  • If the proposal appears to be fraudulent, and the proposal was received by either email or the Internet, please report the incident to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov and follow the instructions for filing a complaint.

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.

/signed/

Richard C. Stearns
Director for Enforcement & Compliance

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