Royal Bank of Ireland International Limited

This notice is issued by the Financial Supervision Commission (“the Commission”) in accordance with the powers conferred upon it under Section 22 of the Financial Supervision Act 1988.

Royal Bank of Ireland International Limited

Bogus emails falsely purporting to have been issued by the genuine banking licenceholder Bank of Ireland (I.O.M.) Limited

The Commission has recently become aware of emails falsely purporting to originate from an individual who implies, within the emails, that they are associated with the genuine holder of an Isle of Man Banking licence, Bank of Ireland (I.O.M.) Limited.

The Commission has previously issued general advice regarding bogus correspondence falsely purporting to have been issued by genuine Isle of Man institutions. The earlier advice may be read on the following link /lib/docs/iomfsa/PublicWarnings/bogusLetters.pdf

The aforementioned emails bear the subject line “Verification of Your Payment File” and quote the address PO Box 247, Christian Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 1XF, United Kingdom.

In addition, the email makes reference to an entity by the name Royal Bank of Ireland International Limited, United Kingdom.

The emails contain the following text:

“From the records of outstanding contractors, next of kin funds and lottery funds due for immediate payment with the Royal Bank of Ireland International Limited, United Kingdom. Your name/particulars was discovered as next on the list of the outstanding payments who have not yet received their payments.

I wish to inform you that your payment is being processed and will be released to you as soon as you respond to this letter. Also note that from the record in my file your outstanding part payment is GBP 1,700,000.00 (One Million Seven hundred thousand dollars).”

The emails purport to have been sent by a Michael McKay.

The Commission wishes to draw attention to the following observations regarding the aforementioned emails:

There is a genuine holder of an Isle of Man Banking Licence called Bank of Ireland (I.O.M.) Limited. The genuine Bank of Ireland (I.O.M.) Limited uses PO Box 246. The remaining address details are as above. Details of all licenceholders of the Commission are available on our website www.fsc.gov.im.

The entity referred to as Royal Bank of Ireland International Limited is not a company incorporated within the jurisdiction of the Isle of Man. It is not registered as a foreign company having established a place of business on the Isle of Man. It is not registered as a business name on the Isle of Man.

The Commission has established that a genuine Michael McKay is employed by the genuine Bank of Ireland (I.O.M.) Limited. The Commission is satisfied that the aforementioned emails have not originated from, nor have they been issued with the knowledge or consent of, that genuine Michael McKay.

Under the circumstances the Commission feels that these emails are being issued to either tempt the recipient into becoming the victim of an Advance Fee Fraud (see explanatory notice issued by the Commission at:

http://www.iomfsa.im/ViewNews.gov?page=lib/news/iomfsa/westafricanfraud.xml&menuid=11570)

or are an attempt at gaining personal data from the recipient in order to steal their identity (see explanatory notice issued by the Commission at:

http://www.iomfsa.im/ViewNews.gov?page=lib/news/iomfsa/identitytheft.xml&menuid=11570)

Under the circumstances the Commission would encourage people receiving emails matching the above description to refrain from responding to them in any way.

Any persons who are already involved in any dealings resulting from the above emails and who have concerns should contact the Enforcement Division on +44 1624 689315 or by email to fsc@gov.im.

Any persons who have paid out funds in relation to the above emails or who have provided personal financial details in relation to the above emails should consider contacting their local police fraud unit without delay.

FSC Reference: KL/21/2006