Archive for November, 2013

Fraudulent Charitable Organization Donation Scams

Wednesday, November 27th, 2013

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice.

Depending on your opinions regarding the adverse weather effects of “global warming”, globally we are continuing to see and experience extremes of weather conditions which are causing tremendous amounts of property damage, and significant numbers of deaths and injuries.  Often U. S. citizens feel compelled to make a donation to the humanitarian relief efforts to aid those victims and provide financial assistance.  The assumption that follows is that surely their donation must be to an IRS approved charitable organization, and that the donation can be deducted on their (personal  or business) tax returns for that year. 

However, this assumption could be incorrect.  IF you claim a deduction for a donation to an organization that has not been approved by the IRS, or for which the IRS has revoked their tax-exempt satus, you could subject your tax returns to an audit or review by the IRS.  Based on past experiences, these “tax scam” organizations may use one or more of the following schemes:

The scams use different tactics. Offering charity relief, criminals often:

  • Claim to be with real charities to gain public trust.
  • Use names which are very similar to legitimate charities.
  • Use email to steer people to bogus websites that often look like real charity sites.
  • Contact people by phone or email to get them to ‘donate’ money or give their financial information. 

 Before you may any donation, perform your own “due diligence” activities to confirm that you are sending your money to a bonafide charity.

1.  Go to the Internet, use your search engine, and verify the authenticity of the organization;

2.  Contact the Better Business Bureau (http://www.bbb.org/us/Find-Business-Reviews/) or (http://www.bbb.org/)

3.  Go to the IRS website (http://www.irs.gov) and use the “Exempt Organization Select Check” tool to locate bonafide charities.  Remember, the website may not have all of the latest organizations.  If you can not locate the one for which you are searching, call the IRS at 1-800-829-3676 or 1-800-829-1040. 

4.  If you can not satisfy yourself that the organization is a bonafide entity after completing steps #1-3 above, DO NOT make the donation!  It is most likely that it is a scam operation and that your donation will personally enrich one or more individual people. (more…)

Internal Revenue Service Warns of New Phone Scam

Thursday, November 7th, 2013

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice.

IRS Warns of Phone Scam

 The IRS is warning the public about a phone scam that targets people across the nation, including recent immigrants. Callers claiming to be from the IRS tell intended victims they owe taxes and must pay using a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer. The scammers threaten those who refuse to pay with arrest, deportation or loss of a business or driver’s license.

The callers who commit this fraud often:

  • Use common names and fake IRS badge numbers.
  • Know the last four digits of the victim’s Social Security number.
  • Make caller ID appear as if the IRS is calling.
  • Send bogus IRS emails to support their scam.
  • Call a second time claiming to be the police or DMV, and caller ID again supports their claim.

The truth is the IRS usually first contacts people by mail – not by phone – about unpaid taxes. And the IRS won’t ask for payment using a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer. The agency also won’t ask for a credit card number over the phone.

If you get a call from someone claiming to be with the IRS asking for a payment, here’s what to do:

  • If you owe federal taxes, or think you might owe taxes, hang up and call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you with your payment questions.
  • If you don’t owe taxes, call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484.
  • You can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at FTC.gov. Add “IRS Telephone Scam” to the comments in your complaint.

Be alert for phone and email scams that use the IRS name. The IRS will never request personal or financial information by email, texting or any social media. You should forward scam emails to phishing@irs.gov. Don’t open any attachments or click on any links in those emails.

Read more about tax scams on the genuine IRS website, IRS.gov.

Additional IRS Resources:

IRS YouTube Video: