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Scam Targets Elderly Seeking Tax Help

Victims lose money and risk identity theft

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 16, 2007
Many seniors seek help preparing their state and federal tax returns, especially if that assistance costs little or no money and comes with the promise of a refund. But law enforcement officials warn that scammers are exploitiing that vulnerability and seniors nationwide are falling for it.

The Social Security Administration reports scam artists are approaching seniors across the country and offering to prepare tax returns for Social Security recipients.

The victim is instructed to get a 1099 statement for the last three years from Social Security. The SSA has no choice except to provide this information to beneficiaries, although they have been warning anyone who requests this information about the scam.

Once the intended target receives the information, the scam artist prepares three years of tax returns for a fee. The returns show Social Security benefits as income and mistakenly take the standard deduction to create a refund amount.

The beneficiary files the faulty tax return and receives a refund from the IRS.

Once the IRS realizes the error, the refund is either removed from the beneficiary’s bank account or the IRS sends a demand letter for the refund amount. By that point, the scam artist has moved on and the beneficiary is out the $40 to $100 they paid to prepare the return, and they've had to pay back the refund .

And that may be just the first chapter. Since the scam artist has the victim's personal identity data, including Social Security number, they can open phony credit accounts in the victim's name and possibly get access to bank accounts and other assets.

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