A warning from the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy has properly alerted U.S. investors to fraudsters posing as government officials in phone calls, voicemails, emails and letters.
The SEC’s advice to help investors fight this type of fraud includes refusing to provide personal information until they are sure they are talking to the SEC.
Those affected by the SEC fraud scam can file a complaint with the SEC’s Office of the Inspector General at www.sec.gov/oig. They can also lodge their complaints by calling the OIG’s toll-free hotline (833) SEC-OIG1 (732-6441).
Those wishing to confirm the identity of the persons behind these unsolicited calls and messages posing as the SEC are asked to call the SEC’s personnel search service at (202) 551-6000, call (800) SEC-0330, or email help@SEC.gov.
For further clarification, the SEC Division stated, “The SEC does not seek money from any person or entity as a penalty or disgorgement for alleged wrongdoing outside of its formal Enforcement process. Be skeptical if you are contacted by someone claiming to be from the SEC and asking about your shareholdings, account numbers, PIN numbers, passwords, or other information that may be used to access your financial accounts.”
For more information, read the original story in Bleeping Computer.