The Better Business Bureau in Central California (BBB) is warning anyone connected with the construction industry to be aware of a fake letter from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The letter, printed on what appears to be authentic DOT stationary, claims to be from a Senior Procurement Officer and states that the company needs to provide financial information before it can be considered for bids.
One Central California business received the letter by fax almost immediately after having registered on the California Department of Transportation (CalTRANS) site for becoming eligible to bid on procurement contracts. Excited about the prospect of increased business during an industry slump, it wasn’t until they had completed and faxed back the financial information that they realized the letter was from the DOT, not CalTRANS. They immediately checked the DOT web site and discovered a federal fraud alert regarding the alleged letter. The company was forced to close its financial account and destroy nearly 1,000 corporate checks.
The point of contact concerning these fraudulent letters is the Department of Transportation Office of the Inspector General Hotline at 1-800-424-9071.
The Rest of the Story: Scammers aren’t always as smart as they think! As the weeks went by, the company initially thought that closing the bank account and destroying their checks had been sufficient. Then, nearly a month later after a sense of calm had returned, the scammers struck.
The company’s bank received a wire transfer request, supposedly from JPMorgan Chase Bank, for
$18,676.00 to be sent to Russia. The wire request included the signatures of the two partners as well as the (closed) bank account number. Even the unusual spelling of the US bank, JPMorgan all connected into one word, was correct. And the routing numbers for Alfa-Bank, in Moscow, were legitimate.
Since the company had taken the correct action and closed the account, coupled with the fact that they do not traditionally use wire transfers, there was no money available for withdrawal or transfer and the bank immediately notified the partners.
What gives this story an added twist is that the company, in a fit of anger after discovering the initial
phishing hoax, faxed the scammers back, telling them that they were closing the bank account and that they (the scammers) couldn’t get a cent from them. Apparently the scammers didn’t believe them.
The moral of the story is to always check, double check and check again before giving out any financial information or signatures. If in doubt, check with your BBB.