Concord, NH – Attorney John M. Formella announces that the New Hampshire Department of Justice’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau is notifying retirees and beneficiaries of the New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) of a series of recently discovered fraudulent attempts to redirect pension payments via falsified direct deposit change requests.
Earlier this month, the NHRS successfully identified and prevented repeated fraudulent efforts to change direct deposit information for five retirees and one beneficiary. These fraudulent requests were submitted by fax and identified by NHRS’ internal security processes prior to any cash being redirected.
The Attorney General’s Office has been alerted of the issue, and it commends NHRS for its prompt response and strong internal measures that averted any financial loss.
The NHRS also contacted everyone whose names were involved in the attempted fraud. Three of the names submitted were unrelated to NHRS in any manner. According to NHRS’s internal examination, there is no evidence that member or retiree data was hacked, nor that the personal information used in these attempts originated on NHRS systems.
The fraudulent submissions appear to be linked to faked robocalls imitating legitimate banking institutions. Fraudsters typically utilize these types of scams to obtain cash or personal information.
All retirees, beneficiaries, and members of NHRS, as well as the general public, are advised to be wary of unsolicited mailings asking sensitive financial information:
- Be wary of unsolicited requests to verify or modify financial information.
- Never react to unsolicited emails, calls, or faxes asking personal or banking information.
- If you have any questions about any communications, please contact NHRS directly at www.nhrs.org or (603) 410-3500.
- Report suspicious scams to the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau at (603) 271-3641, or file a complaint online at www.doj.nh.gov.
- Consumers may also report cyber-related fraud to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
The New Hampshire Department of Justice will continue to collaborate with the NHRS and other partners to safeguard the integrity of public benefit programs and keep New Hampshire people informed of any dangers.
