Security News > 2021 > November > US SEC warns investors of ongoing govt impersonation attacks
The Securities and Exchange Commission has warned US investors of scammers impersonating SEC officials in government impersonator schemes via phone calls, voicemails, emails, and letters.
The alert comes from SEC's Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, which regularly issues warnings to inform investors about the latest developments in investment frauds and scams.
Investors are advised not to provide personal info until they verify they're actuating speaking with an SEC official since these phone calls and voicemails are "In no way connected to the SEC.".
Con artists have used the names of real SEC employees and email messages that falsely appear to be from the SEC to trick victims into sending the fraudster's money.
SEC. "The SEC does not seek money from any person or entity as a penalty or disgorgement for alleged wrongdoing outside of its formal Enforcement process," the SEC department added.
The FBI alert followed a similar fraud alert issued by FINRA the same week regarding broker imposter scams using phishing sites impersonating brokers and doctored SEC or FINRA registration documents.