BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU WARNS ABOUT A PHISHING SCAM

The AP reports, "Companies in Nebraska and across the nation are being warned to be on the lookout for bogus e-mails supposedly sent by the Better Business Bureau." According to the story, "the e-mail's subject line includes a nine-digit complaint number," and the text of the message "claims that the recipient didn't respond to a complaint filed by 'Jason Harlow'" or other name. If the link is opened, "malware is downloaded." See the AP story by going to http://www.krvn.com/news/index/7019ed14-95d8-4c5b-97c5-c50df2a63b59>

BEWARE: ANOTHER SCAM

Watch out for this scam. I have had a client that received the following email. Remember, the IRS never sends notices by email.

See www.snopes.com for more information.

Taxpayer ID: name-00000174073547US
Tax Type: INCOME TAX
Issue: Unreported/Underreported Income (Fraud Application)

Please review your tax statement on Internal Revenue Service (IRS) website (click on the link below):

review tax statement for taxpayer id: name-00000174073547US

Internal Revenue Service

IRS ALERTS PUBLIC TO NEW IDENTITY THEFT SCAMS

Summertime brings no relief from phony e-mails that claim to come from the IRS, but which really come from scammers trying to steal the identity of the e-mail recipients.

Check out this recent IRS alert.

WATCH OUT FOR FRAUDULENT IRS EMAILS

I don't think that there is anything scarier for a taxpayer than a letter, call or email from the IRS. Knowing this, crooks use the fear of the IRS to illegally get personal information or cash. As a reminder...

Be aware of e-mail scams that fraudulently use the IRS name or Logo as a lure. The goal of the scam is to trick people into revealing personal and financial information, such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers, which the scammers can use to commit identity theft and steal your money.

The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mails about a person’s tax account or ask for detailed personal and financial information. Additionally, the IRS never asks people for their PIN numbers, passwords or similar secret access information for their credit card, bank or other financial accounts.

In addition, Snopes had the following article about criminals phishing for information.

http://www.snopes.com/fraud/phishing/irsrefund.asp

WATCH OUT FOR THESE NEW PHONE AND EMAIL SCAMS

Just another reminder to not give out private information to anyone that calls you on the phone.

The latest one is a Jury Duty Scam. I have personally gone out to the FBI website to verify this report.

This scam appears to be spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us take those summonses for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty that a new and ominous kind of fraud has surfaced. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo; your identity was just stolen. The fraud has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma, Illinois, and Colorado. This swindle is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they are with the court system. The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Don't believe me, check it out here:
http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp
http://www.truthorfiction.com/

FRAUDULENT GRAND JURY SUMMONS CONTAINING MALWARE

04/17/08—The IC3 warns consumers of recently reported spam e-mail containing a fraudulent subpoena notifying recipients they are commanded to appear and testify before a Grand Jury. The e-mail attempts to appear authentic by containing a court case number, federal code, name and address of a California federal court, court room number, issuing officers’ names, and a court seal. Recipients are directed to click the link provided in the e-mail in order to download and print associated information for their records. If the recipient clicks the link, malicious code is downloaded onto their computer.

The e-mail also contains language threatening recipients with contempt of court charges if they fail to appear. Recipients are also told the subpoena will remain in effect until the court grants a release. As with most spam, the content contains multiple spelling errors.

If you receive this type of notification and are unsure of its authenticity, you should contact the issuing court for validation.

Be aware; if you receive an unsolicited e-mail, especially from an unknown sender, it is recommended you do not open it. If you do open the e-mail, do not click any embedded links, as they may contain a virus or malware.

If you have received an e-mail similar to this, please file a complaint at www.ic3.gov.

WATCH OUT FOR THIS SCAM

We may all think this scam is far fetched, but something similar actually did happen to an elderly client of mine. She wanted to know, if she received a million dollars, would the money be taxable? My immediate thought was that she inherited some money, but I eventually came to find out that she was actually being scammed by someone in Africa.

Many Americans have received an e-mail or letter from Nigeria, claiming that the recipient can receive huge funds from an "over-invoiced" government contract or a wealthy individual who died without a will. In actuality, these are advance fee swindles where the victim must pay phony charges for the nonexistent money.

Thomas Katona, the longtime treasurer of Alcona County, Mich., was charged in January with nine counts of embezzlement by a public official after allegedly wiring more than $1.2 million in county funds to Nigerian con artist in August and September. It represented more tan a quarter of the county's entire annual budget.

-Joseph T. Wells, CPA, CFE, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners

WATCH OUT FOR THIS SCAM

There are scam artists all over, taking advantage of us as people. I just received a form from one of my clients in California with “Disclosure Statement Board of Business Compliance Annual Minutes Division” requesting they fill out the information about the corporation and submit $125.

The clients sent it on to me, and in looking at this I had not heard of it before. I have done some checking on the internet and read the instructions much closer, and this was basically a scam.

It seems all you need anymore is a printer that can print a legal looking form and a post office box and you can rip people off.

My warning is don’t take everything for granted. Check very closely before you pay these amounts that are fairly immaterial, but certainly add up.

If you are concerned that you are being scammed, it pays to Google the entity to see if there is information. Here are some online resources that you can use:

http://www.fraud.org/

http://www.ftc.gov/

http://www.bbb.org/

WILDFIRE EMAIL SCAM

IRS Warns about California Wildfire Email Scam: The IRS warned taxpayers of a new email scam purporting to come from the IRS and the U.S. government for charitable contributions to victims of the California wildfires. The email urges recipients to click a link on a fake version of www.irs.gov that opens a donation form requesting personal and financial information. Taxpayers can forward suspicious emails to an electronic mailbox, phishing@irs.gov, using instructions found in "How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes" on the genuine IRS website. News Release IR-2007-183.

ANOTHER TAX SCAM

The following is a new tax scam that is going around. This looks like it is coming from the IRS and that you have a refund. They ask you to give them your bank information and they will automaticaly deposit the funds in your account. Of course all they want is your bank information. The IRS never ever contacts a person by email. If you do get information such as this make sure that you use caution.

Here is the bogus email.

----- Original Message -----
From: Internal Revenue Service
Sent: Thursday, July 12, 2007 5:59 AM
Subject: Tax Refund Notice (Form 1040XYS)

Good News, After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $93.82.

Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 2-4 days in order to process it. A refund can be delayed for a variety of reason. For exemple (invalid records or applying after the deadline). The good news is that IRS will make this refund directly to your visa and/or mastercard linked to your checking/savings account instead a check or a direct deposit.

To access the form for your tax refund, please continue to our secure form "Tax Refund V-M". Important: Do not use credit and/or american express or discover cards. Only cards that are linked to your checking/savings account are accepted.

Regards,

Stephen Bronner

Internal Revenue Service - Tax Refund Specialist

IRS WARNS ABOUT A NEW E-MAIL SCAM

The Internal Revenue Service warned Thursday of new e-mail scams that try to get businesses or individuals to open an attachment or send a reply, actions that could damage their computers.

The agency said scammers are sending e-mails falsely claiming that someone is under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service or that a complaint has been filed with the Internal Revenue Service. The message asks the recipient to reply to the e-mail or to open an attachment.

The Internal Revenue Service said computer users should forward such messages to phishing@irs.gov and then delete them to avoid bringing the virus into the computer.

Other scams offer “refunds” or send computer users to a fake Internal Revenue Service Web site that asks for bank account numbers. The Internal Revenue Service said it does not send unsolicited e-mails or ask for personal or financial information online.