An alleged foreign currency scam run by Richard Converse of Great Falls, may have put the private information of hundreds of Montanans in jeopardy.

"Part of this alleged scheme involved gathering a lot of personal information about people who believed they were buying foreign currency, including the Vietnamese Dong and the Iraqi Dinar," said Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance Monica Lindeen’s Communications Director Jennifer McKee. "Some of that information included Social Security numbers and date of birth, and other sensitive personal information that Montanans may have shared with this gentleman in the course of becoming one of his investors."

McKee says 400 people worldwide and nearly 200 Montanans were involved in Converse’s operation.

"We believe the forms they filled out were fake," Mckee said. "They are actually not affiliated with any major financial services firm as they are purported to be. We wanted Montanans that were potentially involved in the scam to call our office, and to take the precautions that they need to to lock up their credit and protect their personal identities."

Lindeen is asking potential Montana victims to contact her office at 1-800-332-6148 if they believe they may have been caught by the scheme.

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