Fraudulent Phishing Email (2024-11-19)

Summary

This is a public alert issued by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) warning of an ongoing phishing campaign in which scammers send fraudulent emails falsely claiming to be from CIMA. The emails impersonate a named CIMA employee (Mr. Christopher Buock) and appear to use the address AMLSurveys@cima.ky, which is a genuine CIMA email address but is being misused by fraudsters in this scheme, not by CIMA itself.

• Requests: Requests for personal information or payments
• Offers: Offers of fund recovery or cryptocurrency conversion services
• Documents: Distribution of forged documents

CIMA clarifies that its internal systems have not been compromised and that the fraudulent activity originates externally, using duplicated or fabricated domains and impersonation tactics. The notice is informational and aimed at the general public rather than at regulated entities specifically, though licensees and their staff or customers could also be targeted and should be aware.

CIMA asks recipients to remain vigilant, verify the authenticity of any communication claiming to be from CIMA, and report suspicious emails to a specified CIMA contact address. There is no formal regulatory obligation imposed on licensees by this notice beyond this general encouragement to be alert and to report suspicious activity.

Key obligations

• Recipients are encouraged to verify the authenticity of any correspondence purporting to originate from CIMA before acting on it
• Recipients are encouraged to report suspicious emails resembling this phishing scheme to CIMA at ContactPublicRelations@cima.ky