Financial fraud is on the rise. Here's how to protect yourself.

This message is for informational purposes only and not the result of any activity related to your retirement plan account.

As part of TIAA's commitment to help protect your assets, we are sharing the details of an ongoing nationwide fraud scam. 

What is the scam?

You may receive an unsolicited contact via email, text or phone from unverified persons posing as a representative of a well-known company or government agency.

The scammer may seek permission to remotely take over your computer or mobile device (sometimes called "remote access") under the premise that you will help the government capture people committing fraud (e.g., a "sting operation").

In an effort to avoid detection from fraud monitors at your financial institution, you may be asked to move money from your retirement or brokerage account to your bank account. You may then be instructed to immediately transfer funds out of your bank account into another account or cash equivalent that can be controlled by the scammer.

To increase your confidence that this is a legitimate sting operation, you may be told not to share any details of the activity with anyone, including representatives at your financial institutions, as it would jeopardize the "investigation."

What can you do?

If you think your TIAA account is being targeted by one of these scams, immediately stop any and all communications with the individual.

To learn more about other ways to secure your accounts, visit TIAA.org/security.

For additional information on scams, visit Federal Trade Commission - SCAM Alerts.