Be on guard against a new round of fake letters seeking to obtain banking information from motor carriers, says the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The letter, sent sometime in mid-March, claims to be from the DOT Procurement Office and contains a fictitious name and title: Julie Weynel, senior procurement officer.

The letters request that current or potential contractors register with the office by submitting their company’s financial information on a release form entitled, “Authorization to release financial information”.  The DOT does not require any financial information to be submitted in order to be eligible for procurement.

Department officials said carriers should not complete the release form attached to the letter nor release any information to the facsimile number cited in the letter.

To report receiving one of the letters, call the DOT Office of the Inspector General Hotline, (800) 424-9071.

More information is available at the DOT website.