Fw: New mail scam aims to steal your identity and money (Off Topic)

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- http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/68819_irs02.shtml -

 

New mail scam aims to steal your identity and money

 

Phony IRS forms demand personal, financial data

 

Thursday, May 2, 2002

 

By JANE HADLEY

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER CONSUMER AFFAIRS REPORTER

 

The tax forms and letter sent recently to some Washington residents look real.

 

But the Internal Revenue Service warned yesterday that a multistate scam

involving phony IRS forms could end up costing victims their identity -- and

their money.

 

Possibly a dozen or so Washington residents have reported receiving a letter and

fake IRS form, ostensibly from their banks, IRS spokeswoman Judy Monahan said.

 

Wary consumers might look at the highly personal information being requested and

realize that something was amiss, she said.

 

But the IRS is especially worried about recent immigrants, those who speak

English as a second language, the elderly and others who might be fooled by the

realistic-looking forms, which refer to citizenship and nationality.

 

The letter says recipients must fill out and fax in the form within seven days,

or the government will withhold 31 percent of the interest on their bank

accounts. The form asks for account numbers, PIN codes, passwords, date of

birth, mother's maiden name and other highly personal information.

 

" When you look at this phony form, you will see instantly where you could become

that person -- withdraw from their account, get tax returns and apply for credit

cards and just charge up a tree, " Monahan said. " The form is all-intrusive. It

asks for just everything -- your whole identity. "

 

Both the letter and the phony tax form are official-looking, although the

grammar and syntax of the letter are flawed.

 

The IRS said these three phony forms are being sent out:

 

 

a.. " W-9095, Application Form for Certificate Status/Ownership for Withholding

Tax. " The IRS has no form W-9095, but the fictitious one appears to be an

attempt to mimic the genuine IRS Form W-9 " Request for Taxpayer Identification

Number and Certification, " the IRS said.

 

 

a.. Form W-8BEN " Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United

States Tax Withholding. " The IRS does have a legitimate form of that same number

and name. But the fake one, which targets residents of foreign countries who

bank in the United States, has been altered to ask for the highly personal

information.

 

 

a.. " W-8888. " This fictitious form also asks for the private information.

 

The IRS has received reports of the scam across the country, including from

California, Texas, Maine, New York, Georgia and North Carolina.

 

" Dozens of U.S. and foreign victims have been identified so far, " the IRS said,

though Monahan said she had no further details about the victims.

 

The agency investigating the fraudulent scheme, the Treasury Inspector General

for Tax Administration, refused yesterday to release any further information

about the number, location or identity of the victims or whether any had

actually lost money.

 

" When we look into a matter, we can't release initial public information, " said

Agapi Doulaveris, a spokesman for the inspector general in Washington, D.C.

 

 

PHONY FORMS

 

FORMS ONLINE

 

 

a.. Several phony IRS forms have been sent to residents in a multistate scam.

One of the forms can be viewed on the Web at

www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/alert/2002-3b.pdf

 

 

a.. The letter that accompanies the bogus form can be viewed at:

www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/alert/2002-3a.pdf

 

WHAT TO DO

 

The IRS had the following advice for consumers who receive the mailings:

 

 

a.. Do not fill out or fax in the form.

 

 

a.. Immediately report the mailings to the inspector general's toll-free fraud

hot line at: 800-366-4484. Or submit your complaint by mail to: TIGTA Hot Line,

P.O. Box 589, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044-0589.

 

 

a.. Those who have already filled out and faxed in the form should immediately

contact the fraud or security departments of their creditors, banks and other

financial institutions. They should also contact their local police department

and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which deals with mail fraud. The latter

can be reached at: 206-442-6300.

 

 

a.. Also, victims of the scam should report identity and financial theft to the

fraud units of the three major credit-reporting bureaus: Equifax (800-525-6285),

Experian (888-397-3742) and Trans Union (800-680-7289).

 

 

 

 

--

 

P-I reporter Jane Hadley can be reached at 206-448-8362 or

janehadley

 

 

 

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