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By EILEEN ALT POWELL
.c The Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - It seems that almost every month there's a report
of yet another identity theft scam. The latest is particularly
worrisome because it plays off Internal Revenue Service forms,
something the IRS says hasn't happened before.
The scam involves a cover letter from a ``bank'' and a doctored
IRS form.
One of the phony forms is numbered W-9095 and titled ``Application
Form for Certificate Status/Ownership for Withholding Tax.'' It
mimics the genuine IRS Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer
Identification Number and Certification.
In addition to seeking the consumer's name, address and Social
Security number, the sham form asks for very detailed financial
information, including bank account numbers, passwords and
personal identification numbers (PINs) and personal details such a
mother's maiden name.
The letter says the form must be faxed to a certain number within
seven days, or the ``bank'' will begin holding 31 percent of the
account's interest for taxes.
A related scam that targets foreigners with accounts in the United
States features a doctored version of IRS Form W-8BEN, Certificate
of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax
Withholding.
A totally fictitious IRS form, W-8888, also is in circulation, the
IRS said.
The IRS says it has no figures on how many people have been caught
up in the latest scam, but the agency has received complaints from
around the country. Foreigners have been victims, too, the IRS
says.
The California Society of Enrolled Agents, a professional
association of tax experts licensed by the Treasury, and other
groups have been trying to warn the public about the scams.
``Criminals have become more brazen because they've learned that
they can profit from identity theft,'' said Bill Geideman, an
enrolled agent in Santa Ana, Calif. ``And they're much harder to
trace than thieves who walk into a 7-Eleven with a handgun.''
Identity theft is a growing problem in America, with upward of
700,000 people victimized each year, the government estimates.
With the right stolen information - Social Security numbers, bank
account numbers and PINs - the thieves can devastate victims
financially. They can empty savings accounts, open new credit card
accounts and run up massive bills, even buy houses and cars under
their assumed identities.
Victims can spend years unraveling the mess and correcting the
damage to their credit reports.
IRS spokeswoman Peggy Riley said people should be wary of anyone
soliciting personal information from them.
``The IRS would not normally send out these forms, and the IRS
would not ask for sensitive financial data,'' she said.
She said that anyone receiving such solicitations should not
respond to them. Instead, she said, contact the IRS at (800)
829-1040.
People who fear they may have been duped by such forms also should
contact the IRS, Riley said. In addition, because they are
potential identity theft targets, they could file a report with
the local police, contact their bank and notify the three major
credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Other identity theft hot lines are run by the Social Security
Administration, (800) 269-0271, and the Federal Trade Commission,
(877) ID-THEFT.
Geideman, the enrolled agent, said legitimate IRS forms generally
have an IRS processing center address on them and the IRS phone
number.
``Beyond that, the IRS would never ask you for things like your
bank passwords, or insist that you fax things in,'' Geideman said.
``If someone sees that, it should be a red flag.''
08/29/02 07:04 EDT
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