Sense on Cents

There is never a lack of scumbags in the world who prey upon those in distress.

As if those crippled by the Madoff scam have not already gone through hell and back, today we learn that an impostor to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) has sprouted up targeting the investors victimized by the Madoff scam. The Wall Street Journal exposes this scum in writing, Copy-Cat Web Site Targeting Madoff Victims:

The Securities Investor Protection Corp., a securities industry group formed by Congress to help customers of failed brokerages, warned of an imposter Web site mimicking its own page to target victims of convicted swindler Bernard Madoff.

The site for an “International Securities Investor Protection Corp.” asks victims of Mr. Madoff’s multiyear Ponzi scheme to submit claims, which the real SIPC warned could be an attempt to harvest sensitive data for identity theft.

“We know. .. that this bogus group is already attempting to obtain funds and confidential financial information from investors in the U.S.,” SIPC President Stephen Harbeck said. He warned investors against sharing data via the bogus site or trusting its information. “We intend to use every available means to shut down this illicit operation,” he said.

The false site mimics the true SIPC’s page in both artwork and structural design. The fake group claims to be based in Geneva with links to the United Nations and International Monetary Fund. One page has a photo of a huge stack of U.S. currency with the claim the group worked with Interpol to recover $1.3 billion in Madoff money from a Malaysian hideout.

The real SIPC pays up to $500,000 to investors when brokerages fail, using money raised through fees charged to more than 5,000 members firms.

For those entangled by the Madoff scam, please do not allow yourself to be scammed again. Please share this story so every Madoff investor is aware of this operation.

There is a special place in hell for those behind this scheme.

LD

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 2:22 PM and is filed under Bernie Madoff, General, Madoff, SIPC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.