THE FINANCIAL Intelligence Agency Turks and Caicos Islands (FIA-TCI) is warning the public to be on the alert for a female fraudster going by the name of Anna Casey Lourdes.
A printed example of the forged UK passport identification page, with the picture of Lourdes appears in the recent edition of the TC Weekly newspaper.
The article shares the public statement by the FIA-TCI, which notes that reports have revealed that the fraudster is using fictitious identification and other documents in an attempt to enter into business arrangements, particularly with law firms and real estate companies and may be ‘shopping’ until an unwitting person or entity falls victim to the fraud.
According to her modus operandi, the fraudster purports to be a wealthy investor looking to purchase real estate in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Once the entity shows interest in conducting business with the subject, the relevant customer’s due diligence documents requested, will be provided to show proof of ‘her’ identity; however these documents have been identified by relevant authorities as forgeries.
Once the entity accepts the documents and is ready to proceed with the transaction, a forged cheque is sent to them.
Shortly after that cheque is sent, the entity receives correspondence from the subject indicating that they no longer wish to proceed with the transaction and gives instructions for the return of the money. This may be in the form of an advance until the cheque has been cleared or a request for a loan against the amount.
The FINANCIAL Intelligence Agency Turks and Caicos Islands (FIA-TCI), cautions that the other side to the scam is that instead of sending a forged cheque, the subject may convince third parties to send money to the entity on her behalf. And once the money is sent she will provide excuses not to complete the transaction and request that the monies be sent to a different account.
The FIA-TCI cautions anyone who is in receipt of emails of this nature to carry out proper due diligence to avoid becoming victims of this fraud.
Email addresses that have been used by the subject are: anna.caseylour@aol.com, annacaseylourdes@yahoo.com, annacaseylourdes@gmail.com, and c.annalourdes@gmail.com.
Anyone who has been victim, or had their entity targeted by the fraudster is being advised to contact the Financial Crime Unit of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force on 941- 4448/4450.
