Courthouse News reports:
Three people posing as Merrill Lynch recruiters conned job seekers into revealing their bank account numbers by claiming they needed the information to make direct deposits into their accounts, Merrill Lynch claims in Federal Court.
Merrill Lynch says the three people “hatched a nefarious plot” and created the domain email address “merrilllynchcareers.com” and an account on the job search site CareerBuilder.com to lure job applicants with correspondence that appeared to “come from and be authorized by Merrill Lynch.”
Defendants Michael Lenning, Lisa Rains and John Anderson “are engaging in a fraudulent scheme to harvest bank account numbers from unsuspecting individuals searching for jobs,” Merrill says in its complaint.
It says the defendants got the private banking information by promising that if accepted into a “paid training program,” applicants would have their paychecks deposited directly into their accounts.
Read more on Courthouse News. The civil suit alleges trademark infringement, false representation, and violation of California’s anti-phishing statute, among other claims.
Related: Complaint (pdf)