The Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority of Saskatchewan (FCAA) issued a warning on Monday about “an ongoing financial scam” involving fraudsters claiming to be representatives of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which is a division charged with combating money laundering.
The FCAA reports that an individual claiming to be an employee of FinCEN has contacted members of the public in Saskatchewan by both phone and email seeking their personal and financial information.
“The individual claimed that personal and financial information was needed to aid with FinCEN’s investigation of companies for fraud relating to the sale of securities to Saskatchewan residents,” the FCAA’s warning says.
FinCEN “has confirmed that it does not send unsolicited requests nor does it seek personal or financial information from members of the public,” the FCAA’s warning notes. Rather, the agency deals exclusively with financial services institutions and does not investigate frauds directly.