Hi, this is BHP. Yes, it really is. This is our website, and you can tell that because it will match the details on correspondence and other communications you may have received from us. You can also check it by referencing our LinkedIn account or those of our team members. We say this because we live in digital and difficult times.
In common with many businesses, our great brand and reputation (and the great reputations of our team members) is a magnet for those of a ‘criminal persuasion’ who seek to “piggy-back” on these for their own illegitimate purposes. We have recently become aware that nefarious third parties have started to use the identifies of some of our team members in scams to seek money or information sometimes connected to crypto currency, sometimes blockchain accounts and others simply fronting more traditional “access to bank account” scams. They use these identities to give credibility to their scams, obtaining and sharing legitimate documents or references from legitimate public sources and thereby pretending to be us.
We, our clients and our contacts need to remain ever vigilant that suspicious activity is challenged and verified. Remember, we will not need to access your bank payment details or ask for identification documents or personal information out of the context of providing the services to you that you are aware of. If we do need to ask for any such information to provide services to you, we will do so in such a way whereby you are expecting this to happen with notice and you can discuss with us the reasons therefore and a safe manner to provide that information to us and only us. Please do not provide such information to anyone purporting to be from BHP or connected with us without first checking with one of your normal contacts here that this is required.
We feel the need to alert you and remind you about this. If you are unexpectedly contacted by someone purporting to be us or connected to us, or you think we are making requests which are “odd” or out of the normal in the way we interact with you, it is not likely be us. If you have any suspicions at all, or anything you get from us seems abnormal, please make contact with one of your normal contacts here at BHP in the manner you would normally do so and we will be able to identify if the communication is genuine.
Whilst we will take all reasonable steps to ensure we act to deal with the criminals targeting you but pretending to be us by reporting to the relevant authorities, the criminals are fast and agile in how they operate, and we all need to be vigilant to protect ourselves.
If you have any concerns, please reach out to one of your normal contacts at BHP in the normal way.
