March 23, 2020

consumer news

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 

(FDIC) has received reports of fraudulent 

communications that have the appearance 

of being from this agency. Fraudsters 

know that people trust the FDIC name, so 

scammers use the FDIC’s name and logo, 

and even the names of actual employees, 

in perpetrating fraudulent schemes. 

Some recently reported scams have 

fraudulently used the names of real 

FDIC employees, including Martin 

Henning and Michael Benardo. They 

have also used fictitious employee 

names such as Peter Harding, Christine 

Marshall, and Kate Marshall.

These scams may involve a variety 

of communication channels, including 

emails, phone calls, letters, text 

messages, faxes, and social media. The 

messages might ask you to “confirm” 

or “update” confidential personal 

financial information, such as bank 

account numbers. In other cases, the 

communication might be an offer to 

Scammers Pretending to be the FDIC

help victims of current or previous 

frauds with an investigation or to 

recover losses. 

Some scams have included official looking 

forms for such things as filing insurance 

claims or paying taxes on prize winnings. 

They might tell you that you have an 

unpaid debt and threaten you with a 

lawsuit or to arrest you if you don’t pay. 

Other recent examples have included 

check endorsements, bankruptcy claimant 

verification forms, stock confirmations, 

and investment purchases. 

Additional known scams ask for an 

upfront payment in the form of gift 

cards or digital currency before service 

can be provided. They might include 

a cashier’s check with instructions to 

deposit the check and send some portion 

of the funds back via wire transfer 

service. Learn how to protect yourself 

from fake check scams with these tips 

from FDIC Consumer News. Scammers 

might ask for personal information 

such as Social Security numbers, dates 

of birth, and other valuable details that 

they can use to commit fraud or sell 

your identity.

Here’s what you need to know to protect 

yourself against government imposters 

like these:

• The FDIC DOES NOT send unsolicited 

correspondence asking for money or 

sensitive personal information, and 

we’ll never threaten you.

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Protect yourself 

against imposters
For more help or information, go to www.fdic.gov or 

call the FDIC toll-free at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342). 

Please send your story ideas or comments to Consumer Affairs 

at consumeraffairsmailbox@fdic.gov

• No government agency will ever

demand that you pay by gift card,

wiring money, or digital currency.

• The FDIC would never contact you

asking for personal details, such as

bank account information, credit

and debit card numbers, social

security numbers, or passwords.

Find out more about imposter

scams provided by the Federal Trade 

Commission (FTC) at ftc.gov/imposters.

If in doubt, contact the FDIC’s Call Center 

at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342),

Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST).

If you feel you have been the victim of 

fraud, report this incident to local law 

enforcement or the Federal Bureau of 

Investigation (FBI).

Also notify the United States Postal

Inspection Service (USPIS), if the crime 

involved misuse of the U.S. Postal Service.