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The tax filing season is upon us and the IRS just released its list of the most common tax scams. Tax filing can be confusing, and schemers are always looking for a new way to defraud people. I wanted to warn you about a few of the scams the IRS listed.

1. Phishing

Phishing is a tactic used by Internet-based thieves to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal information they can then use to access the victims’ financial accounts. These criminals use the information obtained to empty the victims’ bank accounts, run up credit card charges and apply for loans or credit in the victims’ names. Phishing scams often take the form of an e-mail that appears to come from a legitimate source. Some scam e-mails falsely claim to come from the IRS. To date, taxpayers have forwarded more than 33,000 of these scam e-mails, reflecting more than 1,500 different schemes, to the IRS. The IRS never uses e-mail to contact taxpayers about their tax issues. Taxpayers who receive unsolicited e-mail that claims to be from the IRS can forward the message to a special electronic mailbox, phishing@irs.gov, using instructions contained in an article titled“How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes.” Remember: the only official IRS Web site is located at www.irs.gov.

2. Scams Related to the Economic Stimulus Payment

Some scam artists are trying to trick individuals into revealing personal financial information that can be used to access their financial accounts by making promises relating to the economic stimulus payment, often called a “rebate.” To obtain the payment, eligible individuals in most cases will not have to do anything more than file a 2007 federal tax return. But some criminals posing as IRS representatives are trying to trick taxpayers into revealing their personal financial information by falsely telling them they must provide information to get a payment. For instance, a potential victim is told by phone or e-mail that he or she is eligible for a rebate but must provide a bank account number (or similar information) to get the payment. If the target is unwilling, the victim is then told that he cannot receive the rebate unless the information is provided. Individuals should remember that the only way to get a stimulus payment is to file a 2007 tax return. The IRS urges taxpayers to be extra-vigilant. The IRS will not contact taxpayers by phone or e-mail about their stimulus payment.

3. Fuel Tax Credit Scams

The IRS is receiving claims for the fuel tax credit that are unreasonable. Some taxpayers, such as farmers who use fuel for off-highway business purposes, may be eligible for the fuel tax credit. But some individuals are claiming the tax credit for nontaxable uses of fuel when their occupation or income level makes the claim unreasonable. Fraud involving the fuel tax credit was recently added to the list of frivolous tax claims, potentially subjecting those who improperly claim the credit to a $5,000 penalty.

(Information courtesy the IRS)

Often it’s easy to fall in to tax schemes, so be careful. To report suspected fraud you can fill out IRS Form 3949-A, Information Referral, which is available at www.irs.gov. You may also send a detailed letter to Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA 93888. You are not required to identify yourself when you report suspected fraud. Remember the IRS never uses email to contact taxpayers about tax issues nor will the IRS contact you by phone or email about the Economic Stimulus Payment.

People can register their home and cell phone umbers or file complaints
www.donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222

Clothes Dryer Filter

Protect your family. Protect your community. Registered sex offenders near you.

http://www.familywatchdog.us/

When you visit this site you can enter your address and a map will pop up with your house as the small icon of a house. Red, blue, green, dots will surround your entire neighborhood. When you click on these dots, a picture of a person will appear with an address and the description of the crime he or she had committed. The best thing is that you can show your children pictures and see how close these people live to your home or school.

This site was developed by John Walsh from Americas Most Wanted. It is another tool to help us keep our kids safe.

This ISN'T a joke…worth watching. (Yes, the sheriff's shirt is a couple of sizes too large but the message is for real)

Ladies, please watch this purse thief in action

http://video.sheriff.org/psa_cartheft.shtml

All cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sale calls. YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS.
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone:

888-382-1222 or go to www.donotcall.gov

ATTORNEY'S ADVICE-----NO CHARGE
AVOID CREDIT CARD FRAUD

A corporate attorney sent the following out to the employees in his company.

1. The next time you order checks have only your initials (instead of first name) and last name put on them. If someone takes your checkbook, they will not know if you sign your checks with just your initials or your first name, but your bank will know how you sign your checks.

2. Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put "PHOTO ID REQUIRED."

3. When you are writing checks to pay on your credit card accounts, DO NOT put the complete account number on the "For" line. Instead, just put the last four numbers. The credit card company knows the rest of the number, and anyone who might be handling your check as it passes through all the check-processing channels will not have access to it.

4. Put your work phone # on your checks instead of your home phone. If you have a PO Box, use that instead of your home address. If you do not have a PO Box, use your works address. Never have your SS# printed on your checks, (DUH!). You can add it if it is necessary. However, if you have it printed, anyone can get it.

5. Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. Also carry a photocopy of your passport when traveling either here or abroad. We have all heard horror stories about fraud that is committed on us in stealing a name, address, Social Security number, credit cards.

6. When you check out of a hotel that uses cards for keys (and they all seem to do that now), do not turn the "keys" in. Take them with you and destroy them. Those little cards have on them all of the information you gave the hotel, including address and credit card numbers and expiration dates. Someone with a card reader, or employee of the hotel, can access all that information with no problem whatsoever.

Unfortunately, as an attorney, I have first hand knowledge because my wallet was stolen last month. Within a week, the thieve(s) ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer and received a PIN number from DMV to change my driving record information online. Here is some critical information to limit the damage in case this happens to you or someone you know:

1. We have been told we should cancel our credit cards immediately. The key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep those where you can find them.

2. File a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where your credit cards, etc., were stolen. This proves to credit providers you were diligent, and this is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one). However, here is what is perhaps most important of all (I never even thought to do this.)

3. Call the three national credit reporting organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. I had never heard of doing that until advised by a bank that called to tell me an application for credit was made over the Internet in my name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by phone to authorize new credit. By the time I was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. There are records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases! None of which I knew about before placing the alert. Since then, no additional damage has been done, and the thieves threw my wallet away this weekend (someone turned it in). It seems to have stopped them dead in their tracks.

Now, here are the numbers you always need to contact about your wallet and contents being stolen:

1.) Equifax: 1-800-525-6285

2.) Experian (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742

3.) TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289

4.) Social Security Administration (fraud line): 1-800-269-0271

IDENTITY THEFT PREVENTION

CREDIT REPORTING COMPANIES

Order a copy of your credit report. An amendment to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires each of the major nationwide consumer reporting companies to provide you with a free copy of your credit report, at your request, once every 12 months. To order your free annual report from one or all the national consumer reporting companies, visit www.annualcreditreport.com, call toll-free 877-322-8228 or complete the Annual Credit Report Request Form and mail it to :

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P. O. Box 105281
Atlanta, GA 30348-5281

You can print the form from ftc.gov/credit If you ask, only the last 4 digits of your Social Security number will appear on your credit report.

Equifax 800-685-1111

Eperian 888-397-3742

TransUnion 800-916-8800

Trooper Timothy A. Root, Officer of Investigative Services
troot@dps.state.oh.us
614-752-4527

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JURY DUTY SCAM

Please pass this on to everyone in your email address book.

It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call.

Most of us take those summons for jury duty seriously, but enough people
skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of scam has
surfaced. Fall for it and your identity could be stolen, reports CBS.

In this con, someone calls pretending to be a court official who
threateningly says a warrant has been issued for your arrest because you
didn't show up for jury duty. The caller claims to be a jury coordinator.

If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer
asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can
verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Sometimes they even
ask for credit card numbers. Give out any of this information and bingo!
Your identity just got stolen.

The scam has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma,
Illinois, and Colorado.

This (scam) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the
phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they're
with the court system.

The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their
web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

Check it out here: http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/juryduty.asp

STROKE IDENTIFICATION:

During a BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall - she assured
everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) and just
tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up
and got her a new plate of food - while she appeared a bit shaken up,
Ingrid went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening. Ingrid's
husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to
the hospital - (at 6:00pm, Ingrid passed away.) She had suffered a
stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke,
perhaps Ingrid would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a
helpless, hopeless condition instead.

It only takes a minute to read this...

A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours
he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the
trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the
patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.

RECOGNIZING A STROKE

Thank God for the sense to remember the "3" steps, STR . Read and Learn!

Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately,
the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer
severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of
a stroke.

Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three
simple questions:

S *Ask the individual to SMILE.

T *Ask the person to TALK . to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE
(Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today)

R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.

{NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out
their tongue... if the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or
the other that is also an indication of a stroke}

If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 9-1-1
immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

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