|
WASHINGTON
– 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 the
account’s interest. The scheme promoters then use the faxed
information to impersonate the taxpayer and gain access to the
taxpayer’s finances.
One such phony form is labeled “W-9095, Application Form for
Certificate
Status/Ownership
for Withholding Tax.” The form requests personal data
frequently used to prove identity, including passport number
and mother’s maiden name. It also asks for sensitive
financial data such as bank account numbers, passwords and PIN
numbers that can be used to gain access to the accounts.
The
fictitious W-9095 appears to be an attempt to mimic the
genuine IRS Form W-9, “Request for Taxpayer Identification
Number and Certification.” The only personal information a
genuine W-9 requests is the name, address and Social Security
number or employer identification number of the taxpayer.
Another
form used in the scam is Form W-8BEN, “Certificate of
Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for
United States Tax Withholding.” There is a legitimate IRS
Form W-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;
|
