Important: Phishing Scam Notification

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Artist Trust has been notified of a phishing scam using the name and logo of The COVID-19 Artist Trust Relief Fund to target individuals in an attempt to gather personal information. The scam involves individuals receiving what appears to be a legitimate cashier’s check via UPS next day service, and a letter requesting individuals to text a phone number to activate the check and to provide information such as their full name, the check number, and amount on the check they received. This is a theft of Artist Trust’s identity, is not legitimate, and was not initiated by Artist Trust.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Artist Trust will never solicit sensitive personal information through text message, will not require that you verify receipt of a check in order to authorize payment, does not utilize cashier’s checks, and does not send cashiers checks via UPS.
• There has been no breach of Artist Trust’s data; individuals reporting this scam have no prior association with Artist Trust.
• We ask that you report any fraudulent activity to the Federal Trade Commission at www.FTCcomplaintassistant.gov as an Imposter Scam and Fake Check, and by emailing UPS at fraud@ups.com.

We at Artist Trust are very saddened to see people taking advantage of this crisis. If you have been targeted by this phishing scam, we appreciate any information you can provide to assist our reporting to authorities. Please send scanned copies of the letter, check, and UPS shipping label to Artist Trust at legal@artisttrust.org. If you believe you may be a victim of identity theft because of the phishing scam impersonating Artist Trust, please visit www.IdentityTheft.gov where you can report and recover from identity theft. More information regarding how to spot, avoid, and report fake check scams can be found here: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-spot-avoid-and-report-fake-check-scams.

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