We have been made aware that criminal networks are scamming victims by pretending to represent agents, UN investigators, or law enforcement officials affiliated with “the UNCAC,” “U.N.C.A.C.,” or the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
The fake agents make contact via email, phone, or Telegram and pretend they are part of a law enforcement unit that has recovered assets belonging to the victim. The victims we are aware of have previously been defrauded in other scams, possibly by the same criminal networks.
The criminals skillfully exploit victims’ hopes for justice and the recovery of stolen funds. They may then ask for processing fees for the funds to be returned, introduce the victim to a fake bank, or attempt to steal personal information and other details.
The criminals pretend to assist victims in an asset recovery process. They sometimes provide pictures of fake badges claiming they are agents or investigators of “UNCAC” – no such role or agency exists – or claim an affiliation with the United Nations and UNODC in Vienna.
UNODC, as the host of the UN Convention against Corruption, does not investigate fraud or corruption cases and does not work on the return of assets to individual victims. “The UNCAC,” therefore, does not have investigators or any law enforcement body. Anyone pretending to be an agent working for UNCAC to return funds to victims of fraud is fake.
We have also seen that these fraudsters make reference to the UNCAC Coalition, use aspects of our name and work, impersonate staff email addresses, or link to our website. The Coalition never engages in asset recovery processes or in returning funds to individual victims of crimes.
We strongly recommend: do not engage with such fraudsters if you are contacted, and file a report with your national law enforcement if you have become a victim of financial fraud.
UNODC has also been warning that its name has been misused in scams:
