USDA has been made aware of a fraudulent letter being sent to some farmers requesting information about recipients.

According to a recent notice by USDA FSA, the letters are from a fictitious USDA employee “Frank Rutenberg.” There is no Frank Rutenberg, the letters are fraudulent and if you receive such a letter do not respond.

As always, if you receive a suspicious letter via the postal service or email or other online communication or phone call from someone claiming to be from a government agency or business and they ask you for personal or business information, contact the relevant agency or business on your own and verify the sender’s or caller’s intent. In most cases, legitimate requests for personal or other information will not be made via “cold” calls or unexpected mail or online communications.