Beware of imposter claiming to be from the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation and asking for upfront fees to access a crypto asset “Cold Wallet”

The California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) has been notified that an entity claiming that it is associated with the DFPI as well as the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), is contacting members of the public as part of a scam whereby the scammers claim the DFPI and CSA have control of the victim’s crypto asset “cold wallet,” and demanding upfront fees in order to release the funds.

The scammers have provided victims a form with the DFPI’s logo and office address.  The scammers have used the names “Felix Frost”, “Benjamin Arnold Maguire”, and the email address transaction.support.rmca@proton.me.

The DFPI is warning the public that it does not conduct this type of activity nor does it keep “cold wallets” related to crypto assets.

The DFPI urges consumers and businesses to exercise extreme caution before responding to any solicitation that askes for personal information or payment. To check whether a form you receive is a legitimate DFPI form, users may contact the Consumer Services Office at ask.dfpi@dfpi.ca.gov or call toll-free at (866) 275-2677.

If a consumer believes a person or company has violated state law or acted improperly regarding a consumer financial product or service, they may file a formal complaint with the DFPI at https://dfpi.ca.gov/file-a-complaint.