Banking Department Notifies Public of Fraudulent E-Mails Claiming to be from Their Agency

NEW YORK, NY (06/25/2008)(readMedia)-- The New York State Banking Department today notified the public of fraudulent e-mails that are being sent out, falsely claiming to be from one of its divisions.

Information was received by the Banking Department that individuals are receiving e-mails that have the appearance of being sent from Richard H. Neiman, Superintendent of Banks for the State of New York. The e-mail, part of an apparent targeted phishing scheme, informs the recipient that the Holocaust Claims Processing Office (HCPO), a division of the New York State Banking Department, and the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) are paying Holocaust survivors and their heirs.

This e-mail is a fraudulent attempt to obtain personal information including full name, home address, occupation and personal identification. Individuals should NOT access any of the links provided within the body of the e-mail and should NOT, under any circumstances, provide any personal information in response. Individuals are asked to report any similar attempts to obtain this information to the HCPO by sending information to claimsques@banking.state.ny.us.

"We strongly urge anyone who may receive this fraudulent e-mail to please contact the Banking Department to report it," said Superintendent Neiman. "We are working closely with the relevant state and federal agencies, including the New York State Office of Cyber Security, to identify the perpetrators of this heartless scam targeted at the families of Holocaust victims and survivors."

For more information on phishing scams and how to avoid them, please visit http://www.banking.state.ny.us/brphish.htm or the New York State Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination (CSCIC) at http://www.cscic.state.ny.us.

The New York State Banking Department is the regulator for all state-chartered banking institutions, virtually all of the United States offices of international banking institutions, all of the State's mortgage brokers, mortgage bankers, check cashers, money transmitters and budget planners. The aggregate assets of the depository institutions supervised by the Banking Department are more than $1.8 trillion.

In addition to regulating banking institutions, the Banking Department is active in informing and educating all New Yorkers on banking matters. To contact the Banking Department, please call 1-877-BANK-NYS or visit our Web site at www.banking.state.ny.us.

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