The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network today issued an alert to raise awareness of fraud schemes involving misuse of the agency’s name, insignia and authorities for financial gain. Scams highlighted in the alert include fraud that exploits FinCEN’s new beneficial ownership information reporting rule, misuse of FinCEN’s money services business registration tool and misrepresentation and impersonation of the agency and its employees.
“We urge the public to be vigilant in identifying and avoiding these schemes and to be extremely cautious when dealing with unsolicited correspondence,” FinCEN Director Andrea Gacki said. “FinCEN and its employees will never threaten a member of the public by email, call or text, or demand immediate payment for any reason.”
According to the alert, bad actors are attempting to trick companies into reporting BOI using fraudulent forms and websites, which is then used for scams to steal money or personal information. FinCEN said it is also aware of scammers fraudulently registering as money services businesses with the agency, then using that self-registration to appear legitimate or otherwise gain credibility.
The document provides guidance for identifying scams, including BOI scams. For example, there is no fee to file BOI directly with FinCEN, and the agency will not contact businesses demanding they pay money to file. FinCEN also noted there is a court-ordered preliminary injunction against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act, so companies are not required to file BOI at this time.
