Beware of scammers pretending to be from the CFPB

This week we confirmed that scammers are using CFPB employee’s names and imagery to try and steal your money. We’ve heard from people, specifically older adults, who were defrauded thousands of dollars from scammers pretending to be with the CFPB. If someone contacts you and says you’ve won a class-action lawsuit in a foreign country or can receive other large, unexpected amounts of money but must use the CFPB’s assistance to claim the funds, they are lying.

We can’t say it enough: the CFPB will NEVER call you to confirm that you have won a lottery, sweepstakes, class-action lawsuit, or about any other fees or taxes.

The CFPB does in certain circumstances, however, send payments to consumers who have been harmed by companies involved in enforcement actions. Learn about the Civil Penalty Fund and Bureau-administered redress payments to see if the payment you received from the CFPB is legitimate. We will never require you to pay money to receive money. We will not ask for additional information before you can cash a refund check that we’ve issued.

These scams often have multiple parts:

• You receive a call or email notifying you of an opportunity to participate in a class-action lawsuit, that you’ve won a lawsuit, or that you’re owed money you didn’t expect.
• One of these messages may come from an imposter claiming to be a CFPB or other U.S. Government agency official confirming that you are entitled to a payout.
• Later, you’re told that to collect the money, you must first pay the taxes or some other large upfront fee. They may continue to find “reasons” for you to pay more fees or taxes. It is all part of the scam.

If you’re contacted by someone from the CFPB and you want to know whether it’s real or a scam, you can call our consumer call center at 855-411-2372 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday.

For more regarding this important information, read the full article here.