Published: September 26, 2008 10:27 pm      

BBB: Letters from bank are not scam

Not all unsolicited letters about financial matters are suspect.

That’s what the Better Business Bureau of Central and Eastern Kentucky is telling Kentucky residents who recently have received a letter from BNY Mellon Shareowner Services in Connecticut.

BBB has heard from hundreds of Kentuckians who have received the letters, which state that some tapes containing their personal information have been lost. The letter from BNY (Bank of New York) tells customers that the company has no reason to believe at this time that any of the personal identifying information has been compromised. However, as is typical with many companies who have incidents occur, BNY is offering free fraud protection assistance to anyone affected.

This offer includes a free credit monitoring service for 24 months provided by a major credit reporting agency.

“The BBB assures the public that this letter is real, and not an attempt to steal their identities,” says a press release from Heather Clary, director of communications at the Lexington-based BBB.

Clary said many callers the BBB are concerned because when they call the number to see about receiving the credit monitoring, they are asked for a Social Security number.  

“The BBB assures these people that it is necessary to give their Social Security number, because that is how the credit reporting agency providing the credit monitoring assistance pulls their files,” the release said. “Whether or not a consumer takes advantage of the offer from BNY Mellon for this service is up to the individual.”

Some callers to the BBB have been confused as to why the bank is mailing them when they’ve never done business with them, Clary said.

“Even though a person may not deal directly with a bank, there are banking transactions that pass through several different routes, stock purchases in mutual funds, sales of mortgages and other transactions that may result in personal information being indirectly transmitted to a BNY Mellon,” she said.  

It is not known how many Kentuckians were affected by the lost tapes, but Clary said it is likely to have included some Madison County residents.

The letters include a dedicated toll-free number for people who have questions or concerns about this incident.

Consumers should be cautious of any con artists who may try to take advantage of this security tape loss by calling consumers pretending to be with BNY Mellon and asking for Social Security numbers or other personal information, Clary said.

Contact the Better Business Bureau of Central and Eastern Kentucky to check out companies, charities, or to report problems and scams by calling 1-859-259-1008 or toll-free 1-800-866-6668 or by logging on to www.bluegrass.bbb.org.