BIS warns of impersonation and email scam activity
BIS issued a public warning on scams misusing its name and marks through bogus transactions, fake lotteries, social media ads, and fraudulent websites.
BIS reports rising misuse of its identity in advance-fee, guarantee, and payment intermediation frauds. Financial institutions should treat any transaction referencing BIS as guarantor or payment intermediary as a red flag and reinforce controls at payment initiation and customer-facing channels.
Direct fraud typology relevant to payments screening, customer protection, and financial crime detection.
Action Required
Update fraud detection filters and customer education to flag BIS-impersonation schemes in payment and onboarding workflows.
Named fraud typology from BIS informs concrete detection rules and customer warnings.
Add BIS-impersonation indicators to fraud typology library and transaction monitoring rules. Refresh customer-facing warnings and staff training on advance-fee and guarantee scams referencing BIS.
“The name and marks of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) are increasingly being used in attempts to defraud the public through bogus financial transactions, fake lotteries, fake social media ads and other scams. Fraud may be perpetrated via letter, email, or fraudulent websites.”