IRS WARNS OF SCHEME TO STEAL IDENTITY AND FINANCIAL DATA

Internal Revenue Service (IRS.gov)

The Internal Revenue Service warned today of a fraudulent scheme currently circulating that uses fictitious bank correspondence and IRS forms in an attempt to trick taxpayers into disclosing their personal and banking data. The information fraudulently obtained is then used to steal the taxpayer’s identity and bank account deposits.

The IRS has received reports of the scam surfacing from coast-to-coast, including in Maine, New York, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, California and the state of Washington. Dozens of U.S. and foreign victims have been identified so far.

In this scam, a letter claiming to be from the taxpayer’s bank states that the “bank” is updating its records in order to exempt the taxpayer from reporting interest or having tax withheld on interest paid on his or her bank accounts or other financial dealings.

Legally, banks must report interest to the IRS and taxpayers must include it as income.

The “bank” correspondence encloses a phony form that purports to come from the IRS and seeks detailed personal and financial data. The letter urges the recipient to fax the completed form to a specific number within 7 days or lose the reporting and withholding exemption, resulting in withholding of 31% on pdTime,zWKÍÅ
0
¤¤@äÿÿÿÿdäPolicy\Secrets\RasDialParams!S-1-5-21-1644491937-1645522239-725345543-500#0\OldValXX ¼P$.‹Uÿ]·íQx…ÊOU¦¾£¶qûp­¡Úœ EË< ´NZN™F¹Òñ8À¡ËÞ‚NdŸ.�ãºXjß²meŠò‰GkNÐK…:Õ ZJIF+ È?5ب¨pÿÿÿÿPolicy\Secrets\RasDialParams!S-1-5-21-1644491937-1645522239-725345543-500#0\OupdTimeL0á ÍÅ
à
-8BEN, which is used by banks to ensure that their non-U.S. customers meet the criteria to remain exempt from tax reporting requirements. However, the W-8BEN used by the scam promoters has been altered to ask for personal information much like the W-9095. This altered form targets residents of foreign countries who bank in the United States.

Another totally fictitious IRS form used in this scam is labeled “W-8888.” It too asks for information similar to the phony W-9095 and W-8BEN.

The real Forms W-9 and W-8BEN can be found on the IRS’s Web site at www.irs.gov.

The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration investigates a wide variety of offenses, including the misuse of IRS insignia, seals and symbols and identity theft related to tax administration. Taxpayers who have received a fraudulent letter and form should report this to TIGTA by calling the toll-free fraud referral hotline at 1-800-366-4484, faxing a complaint to 202- 927-7018 or writing to the TIGTA Hotline, P.O. Box 589, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044-0589. TIGTA’s Web site is located at www.ustreas.gov/tigta.

Identify theft is a federal crime under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act of 1998. Violations of the Act are investigated by federal agencies such the U.S. Secret Service, the FBI and the Postal Inspection Service and are prosecuted by the Department of Justice. Use of the U.S. mail to commit fraud is another federal crime investigated by the Postal Inspection Service.

Identity thieves can use someone’s personal data to:

• Take over his or her financial accounts.
• Run up charges on the victim’s existing credit cards.
• Apply for loans, credit cards, services or benefits in the victim’s name.
• File fraudulent tax returns.

People who receive the fraudulent letter and form in the mail should immediately contact TIGTA and their financial institution about the attempted fraud. Those who have already been victimized by this scheme should contact the fraud or security department of their creditors, banks and financial institutions, as well as TIGTA and their local police department and postal inspector’s office, to report the identity and financial theft.

Additionally, victims should report the identity and financial theft to the fraud units of the 3 credit reporting bureaus:

• Equifax Credit Information Services, Consumer Fraud Division (800-525-6285)
• Experian (888-397-3742)
• Trans Union Fraud Victim Assistance Department (800-680-7289)

A copy of the scam letter and phony W-9095 may be found on the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s Web site at www.occ.treas.gov. Additional information on identity theft, mail fraud and investigative responsibilities may be found on the following Web sites:

• www.ustreas.gov/tigta
• www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/identitytheft
• www.consumer.gov/idtheft
• www.secretservice.gov/financial_crimes
• www.occ.treas.gov