Consumer protection

Consumer fraud alerts

It pays to be alert

Attempts at fraud are an all-too present part of life. Sometimes it comes in the form of a fake email from someone posing as a friend, claiming they are stranded in a foreign country and need you to wire them cash.

Sometimes, criminals take advantage of a trusted firm's reputation in an attempt to steal your identity.

To help you protect yourself, below are reports we've received of people posing as Equitable to gain the trust of their intended victims.

Please always read communications carefully. If you have any doubts about the authenticity of anything you receive under the Equitable banner, please do not reply. Always call us or log into this site to complete any transactions and report suspicious messages to ReportFraud@equitable.com.

  • Advanced Fee Recruiter/Employment Scam

    Equitable has received multiple reports of people being approached through email or text messaging by unknown individuals/fraudsters representing themselves as executives and employment recruiters for Equitable. The fraudsters’ ultimate goal is to obtain personally identifiable information and money from the contacted “victims”.

    The process has been known to normally follow these steps:

    • The people/victims being contacted are currently seeking employment and have posted their resumes on multiple online job search websites (Craigslist, CareerBuilder, LinkedIn, etc.).
    • The fraudsters try to establish an interview with the victim using text messaging, an instant messaging service such as Yahoo Messenger, Google Hangout, Skype, or similar communication method. Equitable does not currently communicate with candidates via these services.
    • The fraudster may use the name of a current Equitable executive in an effort to perpetrate this fraud and has impersonated others by using their photos as his/her own.
    • The fraudster next advises the victim that they have been hired and sends a bogus check to the victim’s home address via FedEx for immediate deposit to their personal bank account.  The check is purportedly for the purchase of office equipment such as computers and office furniture from a “preferred” vendor.  The victim is directed to immediately transfer funds to the “preferred” vendor using prepaid cards, Western Union or MoneyGram, for the purchase of the equipment.  The fraudster intends to receive the funds from the victim before the bogus check is returned by the victim’s bank.  The fraudster in these cases may also ask that any funds left over from the purchase of equipment is sent back via the prepaid cards with the victim proving the codes form the cards to the fraudster.

    By making you aware of this, we hope to keep you from being victimized, and ultimately to stop these schemes from being perpetrated against others.

    We ask that you contact us at ReportFraud@equitable.com or at (212) 314-6600 if you have received something suspicious utilizing the Equitable name.

  • Inheritance Scam

    It has been brought to our attention that an Equitable officer's name has been used for the purpose of promoting an inheritance scam. The fraudulent offer includes contact information to an email address of “info@axavault.com.”  This domain name is not associated in any form to Equitable and its family of companies.

    By making you aware of this, we hope to keep you from being victimized, and ultimately to stop these schemes from being perpetrated against others.

  • Counterfeit check alert

    It has come to our attention that a fraudster is using “Equitable” in an overpayment/counterfeit check scam. Various individuals placing ads in online marketplaces (e.g. Craigslist) for goods and services have reported receiving a check from an “Equitable” company via overnight mail (UPS) for an amount significantly over what was requested. These are counterfeit checks. Do not attempt to cash or deposit this check. This is commonly known as an overpayment scam. The fraudster requests a “refund” through Western Union or money-gram so that the proceeds cannot be traced.

    Equitable takes matters such as these very seriously and works with the appropriate authorities to investigate such scams.

    We ask that you contact us at ReportFraud@equitable.com or at (212) 314-6600 if you have received something suspicious utilizing the Equitable name.