Menu

The World Bank Group has warned of investment deals and advance fee fraud schemes that fraudulently invoke the institution’s name or claim to be affiliated to it. The multilateral development bank said there has been a resurgence in the fraudulent use of its name.

The Bank said in a statement last month that it had seen increased use of sophisticated forms and letterheads that appeared to be legitimate World Bank Group email correspondence or certificates. It said the Bank’s name was being falsely invoked to give the fraud schemes the appearance of authenticity and, in some cases, the wrongdoers may use the names of actual Bank’s staff members to bolster the credibility of the scam.

Advanced fee fraud schemes involve solicitations that encourage potential victims to provide personal information such as signatures or bank account information, and to pay certain advance fees, often described as "processing fees" or “finder’s fees”. In return, the potential victim is promised sums of money which the scammer has no intention of paying.  

Police estimate that thousands of advance fee fraud solicitations, with only a very small fraction involving the use of the World Bank Group’s name, are sent by e-mail every week and are addressed to individuals and companies around the world.