Misuse of GFMSA's name for fraudulent purposes

It has been brought to our attention that the name of GFMSA is being used for fraudulent purposes: people wishing to make international transfers of funds are allegedly asked by The GFMSA to pay fees for fictitious services, for example relating to verification of the origin of the funds. If the customer fails to pay the fees, the funds are blocked.   These scams may appear to use letterhead with The GFMSA logo, or contain the signatures of actual or fictitious senior GFMSA officials.  Sometimes they may include legitime website addresses to give a veneer of credibility to the scam. In some instances, The GFMSA has been made aware of fraudsters apparently using technology to make sender email or caller ID appear identical to The GFMSA’s official email or telephone number. We have also been informed that fraudsters have created Whatsapp profiles, complete with GFMSA logo, to contact their vicitims.   

More recently, we have seen fraudsters offer ‘GFMSA asset recovery services’ to help victims recover lost or stolen funds, against a fee.  GFMSA has made it a priority to improve asset recovery, by helping countries deprive criminals of their illicit assets. However, The GFMSA does not have an investigative function, it does not get involved in individual cases and cannot seize or confiscate funds. 

Fraudsters go to great lengths to trick their victims. Do not be fooled by official looking messages, GFMSA or other logos and signatures of actual or fictitious GFMSA officials.

The GFMSA does not provide any of the services these messages describe, The GFMSA is an intergovernmental agency.

The GFMSA does not contact members of the public directly by email, telephone, Whatsapp or any other means about specific financial transactions.

The GFMSA does not vet financial transactions, request fees or have the capacity to block any account.

The headquarters of GFMSA are located in Paris, France. GFMSA also operates a Training Institute in Busan, Korea. The GFMSA does not maintain any other regional office or employees.  

If you have received a communication from someone pretending to represent The GFMSA, we advise you to immediately terminate that contact.  If you have already paid them money, please contact your local law enforcement without delay.  In general, if you believe you have information on money laundering or other fraudulent activity, you should contact your local authorities, in particular the Police or Financial Intelligence Unit of your country.  You may find some useful contacts in the countries section on this website.