21 Mar Fraud Alert – Follow-Up Story
This week, we shared the story of one of our clients affected by fraud scams:
“One of our insured clients was called on a Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. by someone impersonating a representative of the Department of Water and Power, informing them that their power services would be cancelled at 5 p.m. that evening, unless the client make a $2,500 payment. Upon questioning the payment, the caller explained that nothing could be discussed at that time, cancellation of services cannot be stopped unless the payment is made before the deadline, and insisted that the client use a cash card to pay immediately! No checks or credit cards.
Recently, many other businesses have been affected by such scams. Watch the Tip of the Week – Fraud Alert video for more information and suggestions.”
In keeping with this week’s topic of fraud and various fraudulent scams, here is a related story about the largest U.S. tax fraud scam in history!
Much like in the story above, this fraudulent tax scam involves individuals calling unsuspecting business owners, posing as official representatives of the IRS, and threatening arrest or business closure if owed taxes are not paid. Often, the impostors add credibility to their scheme by presenting the business owners’ last 4 digits of their Social Security number. Additionally, the calls are often made from phony numbers, displaying caller ID that appears to be from the actual IRS. These are just elaborate ploys used to fool unknowing people out of their hard-earned money.
Now more than ever, we are advising our clients and friends alike to be aware of suspicious or fraudulent activity! Question the nature of phone calls informing you of missed payment deadlines, fees or cancellation services.