Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting: Beware of Scams
January 5, 2024
These days, it’s common to receive unwanted emails promising quick financial gains or emails disguised as official bank communications.
At New Valley Bank & Trust, we empathize with the frustration caused by these messages that often impersonate legitimate banking institutions. However, amidst the clutter of these spam emails, we want to draw your attention to a matter of genuine importance. In this article, we’ll give you an overview of Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting, when requirements for reporting go into effect, and how you can comply without compromising your security.
Don’t Fall for Fake
Tired of receiving unwanted emails offering to get your business an ERC credit, to handle UCC filing or business registration, or simply to sell you credit life insurance after you buy or refinance a piece of property? So are we. Even though we are bankers, our staff receives these junk messages from robots all the time, and the scammers often make you think that the message is coming from your bank, when in fact it is not. Please call us if you feel that our bank’s name is being spoofed by a scam artist.
What Beneficial Owners Need to Know
We would also like to alert you to a new requirement coming in early 2024 that will most likely be the subject of a new scam in the coming weeks. Beginning January 1, 2024, under the Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Rule of the Corporate Transparency Act, many businesses will be required to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to directly report who ultimately owns and controls them—their beneficial owners. FinCEN is an important, if not well known, government watchdog agency that tries to keep the banking system free of fraud and abuse by money laundering criminals and terrorist groups.
Requirements for Reporting
Existing businesses required to report will have until January 1, 2025 to file their information, and new businesses established in 2024 will have 90 days to report. As a service to our customers, New Valley Bank is providing a link to the FinCEN website that outlines Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) requirements: https://www.fincen.gov/boi
The website provides a Small Entity Compliance Guide and information on who must report, who is exempt from reporting, and how to report. The Bank is not a party to your filing requirements, and specific questions should be directed to FinCEN.
We want to make sure that you are aware of this new requirement and, more importantly, to stress that no fee is required to register your Beneficial Ownership Information with the government.
A Trusted Partner in Protecting Your Information Online
Beware of scams! New Valley Bank & Trust is committed to the highest standards of safety and privacy. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you would like additional advice on protecting your data and avoiding scams. Click this link to learn more and get started. It will take you to the official FinCEN website.
