NEWARK
– Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa
and the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
today warned consumers about a fraudulent
mailing that bears the logo and seal of the
Office of the Attorney General, and which
invites consumers to apply for their share
of the proceeds from a fictitious multimillion-dollar
legal settlement.
The
11-page “Notice of Remedy and Settlement
of Class Action” was sent via email
this week, to consumers as far away as Baltimore,
Maryland. Attorney General Chiesa noted
that it bears the hallmarks of a scam, designed
to entice victims into providing their social
security numbers, bank account information,
or other sensitive materials to what they
believe is a trustworthy source –
only to fall victim to identity theft.
The
letter is, however, an extremely well-detailed
and therefore dangerous scam. It is cleverly
designed to mimic an official government
document. It bears a New Jersey Department
of Law and Public Safety letterhead, and
the signature of a fictitious “New
Jersey Attorney General Edward Thomson.”
“This
letter represents an emerging scam in which
con artists are using the names of government
agencies – including the SEC, and
now the New Jersey Attorney General’s
Office – in order to trick victims
into opening themselves up to identity theft,”
Attorney General Chiesa said. “Anyone
who receives a letter, email, or phone call
from someone who says you have won a prize
or a legal settlement should be very cautious.
Take the time to independently verify the
authenticity of the person reaching out
to you, and never give your personal identifying
information to anyone unless you know for
certain the person or organization is legitimate.”
The
fraudulent letter even includes two phone
numbers and an email address, which apparently
are manned by perpetrators of the scam.
When a Division of Consumer Affairs investigator
called one of the numbers, a man speaking
with a strong foreign accent identified
himself as “Samuel Harrington”
and said he worked in Basking Ridge for
“Attorney General Thomson.”
“With
the power of the Internet and desktop publishing
programs, it is easier than ever for scammers
to create sophisticated documents in order
to trick unwary consumers,” Thomas
R. Calcagni, Director of the New Jersey
Division of Consumer Affairs, said. “We
will investigate this and any similar scams.
However, the best defense is for consumers
to fight back by being extra vigilant whenever
someone asks for bank account, social security,
or other identifying information.”
The
fraudulent document, which may have been
transmitted by regular mail as well as by
email, states that the recipient may be
entitled to proceeds from a nonexistent,
$233.65 million class action settlement
with “Argus Capital Limited and Wentworth
Group Limited.” The letter tells recipients,
“You or someone in your family may
have purchased or otherwise acquired any
publicly traded securities issued …
between April 9, 2006 and March 31, 2011,”
and that investors are entitled to a portion
of the settlement fund.
The
letter further states that the recipient
has a limited window of time in which to
submit a “Proof of Claim” in
order to obtain his or her share of the
money; or submit an “Opt Out Form”
in order to retain the right to sue the
fictitious defendants. Failure to do either,
the letter says, is “equivalent to
giving up your rights.” Recipients
who wish to exercise their rights must call
one of the fraudulent phone numbers.
Attorney
General Chiesa and Director Calcagni urged
anyone who receives a similar document by
letter or email, to call the Division of
Consumer Affairs’ Consumer Service
Center Hotline at 800-242-5846
(toll-free in New Jersey) or 973-504-6200.
The
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
in February 2012 warned investors of similar
scams and noted “a recent surge of
complaints about a scheme where fraudsters
posing as SEC employees call potential victims
on the telephone and purport to offer them
a large sum of [money] … in return
for depositing a smaller amount …
into a specified account. Some of these
solicitations may use the name of a legitimate
company and refer prospective investors
to an operating website. These solicitations,
whether made by telephone, email, or other
method, are fraudulent.”
The
SEC similarly advised investors to call
the agency directly in order to independently
verify whether any communication purporting
to be from the SEC truly is from that agency.
(See the SEC Investor Alert: www.sec.gov/investor/alerts/impersonator.pdf).