CARL WATTS & ASSOCIATES

December 09, 2013

www.carlwatts.com
office@carlwatts.com
Washington DC
 tel/fax 202 350-9002
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With the hurricane season just ending and the Winter Holidays approaching, December is often the richest month in charity donations. This is one of the reasons the IRS recently issued warnings against bogus charity scams.

With never-ending resourcefulness that could have been put to better use, thieves play on the goodwill of people who want to help disaster victims. They pose as a real charity in order to steal money or get private information to commit identity theft.

Some of the most common tactics used for such fraudulent schemes are to:


  • Claim to be with real charities to gain public trust.

  • Use names 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. 


Bogus websites may solicit funds for disaster victims. Such fraudulent sites frequently mimic the sites of, or use names similar to, legitimate charities, or claim to be affiliated with legitimate charities in order to persuade members of the public to send money or provide personal financial information that can be used to steal identities or financial resources.   Additionally, scammers often send e-mail that steers the recipient to bogus websites that appear to be affiliated with legitimate charitable causes.

The IRS offers the following tips to help taxpayers who wish to donate to charity:

Donate to qualified charities.  Use the Exempt Organizations Select Check tool at IRS.gov to find qualified charities. Only donations to qualified organizations are tax-deductible. You can also find legitimate charities at the Federal Emergency Management Agency website, fema.gov.

Don’t give out information.  Don’t give your Social Security number, credit card and bank account numbers or passwords to anyone. Scam artists use this information to steal your identity and money.

Don’t give or send cash.  For security and tax record purposes, don’t give or send cash. Contribute by check, credit card or another way that provides documentation of the donation.

Report suspected fraud.  If you suspect tax or charity-related fraud, visit IRS.gov and click on ‘Reporting Phishing’ at the bottom of the home page.




New Scams
to Watch Out For
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The IRS is also 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.

Such callers 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;

It is important to remember that the IRS usually first contacts people by mail – not by phone – about unpaid taxes. 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 happen to get such a phone call, you should do one of the following:

  1. 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.

  2. If you don’t owe taxes, call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484.

  3. 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.


Very important also, don’t open any attachments or click on any links in those emails.

By all means, if you’re feeling generous, donate to recognized and verified charity organizations and help others be safe too by reporting any scam suspicions by following the details given above.

And, of course, check our newsletters regularly for important updates.