Individuals are using the Principal Financial Group name to gain personal information and money through loan and sweepstake scams.
Loan Scam Alert - April 22, 2008
The Principal Financial Group has been notified that individuals are using the Principal Financial Group name to gain personal information and money in an unsecured loan scam. The perpetrators claim to work for “Principal Financial Lending Group” located at 820 2nd Ave., New York, New York (phone number 888-813-5721). Individuals access their Web site (prflgroup.com) to complete a loan application. Upon receipt of the application information, the perpetrators call the individuals to request an up-front fee equaling a percentage of the loan value to be sent via money gram. Once the perpetrators receive the up-front fee, it is our understanding that they do not honor the terms of the loan.
The Principal Financial Group does not offer unsecured personal loans. Someone is, unfortunately, using a likeness of our company name and its reputation as a leader in the financial services industry to acquire the trust of potential loan customers. If you have fallen victim to this scam, we recommend that you report it to your local police or the Consumer Services Division of your local Attorney General's Office.
Sweepstakes Scam Alert - May 7, 2008
Perpetrators of a lottery/sweepstakes scam are illegally using the Principal Financial Group, Principal Life Insurance Company or a likeness of our company's name as the issuer of $4,850, $4,700 or $4,500 checks. The perpetrators have been distributing letters and checks within the past several weeks notifying various individuals throughout the United States that they are the winners of a USA mega draw, state sweepstakes or Canadian tax refund lottery through AG&G Financial Group, Standard Financial Inc., Star Trust Financial Income or Star Trust Financial Inc. The Principal Financial Group and/or Principal Life Insurance Company located in Des Moines, Iowa, are not affiliated with the listed entities and do not participate in this type of drawing, sweepstakes or lottery.
The prize notification letter typically implies that the individual has won thousands of dollars and instructs them to call a lottery manager as soon as possible to obtain prize instructions. To claim the winning prize, the lottery manager further instructs the individual to deposit a check that was enclosed with their letter and use that money to submit “tax, administrative, legal or processing fees” to Canada.
We have encountered this type of scam in the past and believe that the perpetrators are using several temporary phone numbers and operating from multiple locations in Canada. The checks that accompany the letters are fraudulent. Once an individual pays the fees to Canada, they will never receive the “winning prize.” Unfortunately, the perpetrators of this scam are using the names of reputable companies (such as the Principal Financial Group) to appear legitimate.
Our company is reporting this matter to the Iowa Attorney General's office and Canadian authorities. If you have received this type of correspondence, we highly recommend that you do not cash or deposit the check and encourage you to report the situation to the Consumer Services Division of your local Attorney General's office.
