Which Scams Should You Look Out For?

There are two scams lurking out there that we wanted to talk about today so you can avoid falling victim to them.

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Unfortunately, scammers and thieves are out there, and they’re finding new ways to get our money and our personal information. There are two scams in particular that we want to talk about today and how you can avoid them.

The first is the “certified deed scam.” This is the one we hear most often about from our clients. How it works is new homeowners get an official-looking notice in the mail with a return address in Tallahassee saying that, for a certified copy of their deed, they need to send back $90. This is a total scam. The title company will send you a copy of your recorded deed for free after closing. You can also get a copy of your deed online (again, for free) or just ask us for one.

The second is the IRS scam: Last month, authorities in India arrested 70 people and are questioning hundreds more after uncovering a massive scam to cheat thousands of Americans out of millions of dollars. They pose as U.S. tax authorities and demand unpaid taxes. Police in Mumbai stated that this scam involved call centers that sent voicemail messages threatening U.S. citizens with collection action under the guise that they owed back taxes. Sadly, some people actually fell for this and forked over thousands of dollars in cashier’s checks and gifts cards in order to “settle” these debts. Since 2013, the IRS has received millions of complaints about this scam, and more than 5,000 people have fallen victim to it. The estimated collected total thus far has been almost $30 million.

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Don’t fall for these scams.

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What can you do to avoid falling for scams like these? First, remember that the real IRS would never call you and demand immediate payment for something, and/or require you to ever use a specific payment method to pay that fee. They will also never ask for credit card information over the phone. If you ever get a call from someone claiming they represent the IRS and demanding some kind of debt collection, report that call to the real IRS. You can either visit their impersonation reporting page online or call them at (800) 366-4484.

If you have any specific questions or tax problems, let us connect you with a great local CPA who can advise you. If you have any other questions or have a video topic suggestion in mind for us, reach out to us so we can reward you with a $25 gift card. We look forward to helping you!