Watch Out for Fraud and Suspicious Activity

The policy of Dimensional Fund Advisors is to interact only through official channels when communicating with clients, prospective investors, vendors, and employees. These channels include in-person contacts, phone calls from known/trusted numbers, and official company emails. We do not have a presence on private messaging apps, including but not limited to WhatsApp, WeChat, GroupMe, Telegram, and Signal. Additionally, we will never provide investment advice, seek to obtain sensitive personal information, or request payments through these private messaging apps or via other means, such as text messaging and direct messaging on social media.

Be advised that scammers may try to impersonate Dimensional employees on chat platforms and social media or in other venues. Accordingly, the following guidelines may be helpful.

Unscrupulous organizations or individuals may try to misrepresent the Dimensional brand, impersonate employees, and/or misuse information pertaining to Dimensional for illicit purposes. More broadly, scammers are known to use technology in attempts to manipulate people, both online and offline. This kind of deception is known as “social engineering” and may include:

Email schemes: Scammers send email messages that appear to come from a reliable source making a legitimate request but attempts to fool victims into sending money, revealing personal information, and/or clicking links that open malicious websites or install malware on a device to restrict access to files.

Cryptocurrency investment schemes: Scammers try to use fictitious identities to develop relationships with victims, frequently online, then attempt theft via fake cryptocurrency trading platforms or fake crypto wallets.

Identity theft: Criminals attempt to steal victims’ personal or financial information—such as Social Security numbers—to gain access to their bank, credit card, or investment accounts.

Telemarketing: Scammers try to steal victims’ money over the phone, sometimes using AI-powered voice impersonation, often by making promises or threats, such as claiming they won a prize or are in legal trouble, or by taking some other approach and asking for personal financial information.

Charity schemes: Scammers seek to use phone solicitation, social media, or crowdfunding platforms for personal gain by claiming to represent charitable organizations offering assistance after high-profile disasters, such as an earthquake or hurricane.

Impostor schemes: Scammers may pose as Dimensional employees, use Dimensional logos, or create websites with addresses that are similar to Dimensional’s authentic websites in an effort to fool investors into transferring funds and assets to the scammers’ accounts. Dimensional’s official websites will always use the dimensional.com domain, with no misspellings.

Fake contracts: Scammers may send fraudulent documents through social media platforms or private messaging apps that appear to be contracts with Dimensional. Fake contracts are part of schemes to steal money from unsuspecting victims and can include bogus promises to cover investment-related losses. These documents are not legitimate and Dimensional has no obligations, including to reimburse losses, under these fake contracts. Dimensional will never use social media platforms or private messaging apps to transmit contracts or ask for funds or investments.

Emails, texts, or phone calls from sources claiming to be legitimate, including purported businesses, friends, or family, that include an unusual request for personal information or money.

Unexplained withdrawals from your bank or investment accounts.

Unfamiliar accounts on your credit report or charges to a credit card.

Communications from strangers creating a sense of urgency or emergency designed to play on your emotions.

Never open email attachments or download software, files, data, etc. from an unknown party.

If you receive a suspicious phone call from someone claiming to be from an institution with which you do business, hang up and call your institution directly (at a known/trusted number).

Before interacting with people and organizations online, carefully examine their email address and web URL; scammers mimicking legitimate addresses often use slight spelling variations.

Protect your devices and accounts with strong passwords and update them frequently.

Set up two-factor or multifactor authentication for your online accounts.

Be extra cautious about sharing personal information on websites and social media.

Block calls and text messages from unknown senders.

Consider contacting a credit reporting company about services that may help protect your identity from fraud.

If you have concerns about suspected fraud perpetrated by someone claiming to be a Dimensional employee, report it to your local law enforcement authorities. If the suspected fraud is occurring on a social media platform, report it to the platform too.

If you suspect you have been victimized by an online or internet-enabled scam, consider contacting law enforcement. The list below contains law enforcement contact information for locations where Dimensional has a presence.