To avoid Tax scam

If you get an E-mail from the IRS asking you to visit a website with your tax return, please just ignore it. It's a scam. According to computer security company McAfee: reports of this kind of phishing fraud have popped up all over the country in recent weeks. The company reports about a month ago says, a series of fake emails and websites were created and they're now used to scam people into sharing personal information online. Consumers who use the IRS's online payment system appear to be most at risk.

According to Sandy Botkin, tax expert, He often receives phone calls, E-mails, or letters that appear to be official and inform them that the IRS owes them a refund. In turn to get it, the taxpayer needs to provide his Social Security number, mother's maiden name, and other personal information.

Taxpayers should always be wary when approached by anyone claiming to represent the IRS. They should never share information on a website that they are directed to by an E-mail message.

OptOutPrescreen.com is a website set up by the credit reporting industry to let you opt-out of firm offers of credit. You will not receive unsolicited offers of credit, such as new credit cards, and you'll reduce one of the most common ways your identity could be stolen through your mailbox. It stops "unsolicited" offers. To do this, call your credit card company and ask to opt out of their internal marketing campaigns.

Remember to review your credit reports annually. If you are the victim of identity theft, you want to detect and bait it as early as possible so you can limit the damage. By reviewing your reports every year, you can catch suspicious accounts easily. It's also a good idea to review your reports for honest errors as well. Fixing them can take several weeks, so you want to fix them as they appear.

FTC claims California company over tax relief scam

Report from federal officials on Wednesday: Thousands of consumers drowning in tax debt fall victim to a nationwide scam by a California based company whose owners enjoyed a generous lifestyle in a multimillion-dollar home with seven luxury cars in the garage.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, which announced it has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to win consumers' money back. A federal judge in Chicago has ordered the company to stop the misleading claims and selected a receiver to take control of the company. The judge also froze company possessions and its owners Alex Hahn, age 43 and his wife, Joo Hyun Park, age 37, of Beverly Hills.

According to a search warrant filed in the current case by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Alex Hahn was convicted in 2006 of mail fraud in California and sentenced to five years probation and ordered to pay nearly $1.3 million restitution. David Vladeck, director of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection said: Their scam is over, closed down.

The FTC estimates 20,000 consumers paid upfront fees from $3,200 to $32,000 for worthless tax relief service. The company also charged customers credit cards without their authorization and gave few refunds. A new FTC telemarketing rule that takes effect on October 27 will forbid companies that sell debt relief services by phone from collecting fees before they settle or reduce a customer's debt.

When Fullerton told his wife, Darlene Fullerton, about the company's unmet promises she became pretty livid about the whole situation and went to work filing complaints with the Better Business Bureau, two state attorneys general and the FTC.

The IRS allows taxpayers to settle debts for less than what's owed, but most people don't qualify and they don't need a third party's help. But it makes installment agreements with people who can't pay all their debt at once.

Darlene Fullerton said "Consumers don't have to deal with companies like this”.