WASHINGTON–The FDIC is cautioning consumers that it is not affiliated with the website FDIConnect.com, which could be confused with its own site, FDIConnect.gov.
FDICconnect.gov is a secure electronic portal for the FDIC to connect with financial institutions – not with individual bank customers. Through FDICconnect.gov, bankers can download official FDIC correspondence and conduct secure file exchanges with the FDIC.
The FDIConnect.com promotes a “Fortress Account” that it promotes as a single account for managing cash in an efficient way. Text on the site claims the account offers access to an “entire network of banking institutions backed by insurance up to $25,000,000.”
In the About Us section of the site, text adds, “FDIConnect is a consumer-focused provider of FDIC pass-through insurance for bank deposits. Through the Fortress Account, clients have access to our network of 400 of the highest yielding FDIC member banks in the nation. This access allows our clients the peace and mind of insuring their entire cash balance (up to $50 million per account) while receiving 10x the average money market rate.”
The California Department of Business Oversight also recently issued a warning that the site is not affiliated with the FDIC.
‘Do Your Due Diligence’
“The FDIC recommends that bank customers do their due diligence to confirm that a financial institution is FDIC-insured before doing business with the institution,” the agency said. “The FDIC's BankFind database can help customers determine if an insured bank has certain branches or a website that use a "trade name" that is different from the bank's official name, often for marketing purposes. BankFind will provide customers with the name of the bank that owns the branch or website, if applicable, along with other pertinent information regarding that bank.”