Fraudulent Letter Scam Targeting Truckers

[Bullwinkle]

Truckers are the latest targets in a long line of fraudulent letter scams seeking financial information on fake U.S. Department of Transportation letterhead stationary.

There have been at least 17 other fraudulent letter scams using fake DOT stationary in the past three years.

Omer Poirier, council in the DOT Office of Inspector General’s office, told Land Line Magazine on June 11 that the DOT doesn’t require trucking companies to submit financial information in order to be eligible for procurement contracts. He said the DOT definitely wouldn’t ask companies to submit sensitive information such as financial information by fax.

“That’s just not how we do things – that’s not how the government operates,” he said. “We just want to get the word out to make sure that no one falls victim to this latest scam.”

Truckers and trucking company officials should verify personally that they are sending their information to an authorized DOT official before submitting any sensitive information. The DOT’s main number is (202) 366-4000.