Alerts and Updates
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Check fraud is on the rise. Here's how you can fight it.
Earlier this year the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a nationwide alert regarding a surge in check fraud schemes targeting the U.S. mail. (Download the alert by clicking here)
Even as fewer paper checks are in circulation, check fraud continues to increase—by 84% in 2022 alone. The alert focused on reports of fraudsters stealing checks from public USPS Collection Boxes, then changing the dollar amount and recipient. This scheme is sometimes combined with identity theft.
The Postal Inspection Service is working to further secure these collection boxes. In the meantime, please follow these steps to help mitigate and prevent the risk associated with check fraud:
Whenever possible, use an electronic payment method instead of a paper check (e.g. ACH, MoneyLink, bill pay or if needed, a wire).
If you're expecting a check for a large dollar amount, request a direct deposit into your checking account versus a physical check in the mail.
Take your mail into the post office versus dropping it into an outdoor USPS collection box. If you must use a collection box, drop it in before the final scheduled pickup to ensure it doesn't sit in the box overnight, when criminals tend to target these boxes.
Monitor your bank account online and verify check images to ensure all checks have been properly deposited.
Consider signing up for the free Informed Delivery service, which the post office uses to send you electronic previews of upcoming mail.
Report any fraud and/or suspicious activity to Kemp Financial Management and Schwab immediately.
Remember: People with knowledge are the best defense against fraud.
Sophisticated new tech support scam targets Schwab clients
A new scam campaign combining computer pop-up messages and phone calls is now threatening clients who have accounts at Charles Schwab.
This advanced scheme combines elements of electronic tech support scams with impersonations of real personnel at the Federal Reserve and Schwab to attempt to obtain clients' assets and sensitive data.
The scam works as follows:
Clients receive a pop-up message appearing to be from either Microsoft or Apple warning that their computers have been compromised.
The popup instructs clients to call a provided "tech support" number that of course connects them to a fraudster.
After speaking with the fraudsters, they will be contacted by someone claiming to work for Schwab as a "security officer", who informs them their Schwab account is "compromised". In order to protect them, the Schwab employee impersonator tells the client they must transfer their funds into an account in "federal custody", and their money will be returned in three business days, once their account has been "encrypted" for safety.
Once the client follows these instructions, their money disappears.
To make the story believable, clients are receiving personalized paper letters in the mail that purport to be from the Federal Reserve, referencing the real name and titles of genuine Schwab personnel, tech company employees, and FDIC analysts who are supposedly the individuals contacting them by phone. The letter encourages clients to verify each person's identity through their LinkedIn profiles, making the scam even more convincing.
Steps you can take to protect yourself:
Do not click on links or call based on instructions from a computer pop-up.
Always verify the phone numbers for tech support providers independently.
Never to grant remote access to any of your accounts to anyone.
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