Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Banzhaf | During tax season, filers must be especially vigilant of being targeted by scam...... read more read more
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FORT HOOD, Texas – During this time of year, many people dread filing taxes. On the other hand, others look forward to receiving hefty refunds.
No one, however, looks forward to seeing money snatched from their accounts, credit accounts being opened unbeknownst to them, and other effects that might result from activities of scammers and identity thieves.
One 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division noncommissioned officer recently managed to nip in the bud a potentially disastrous financial situation.
“I received my first call yesterday morning from that number [scammer] and I missed it,” said Sgt. 1st Class Mark Garcia, human resources noncommissioned officer in charge, 3rd ABCT. “I listened to the message today, and the message said it was urgent and to call them back. I called them this morning.”
The scammers claimed to be with the IRS, calling to inform Garcia there was an audit that discovered errors in his past filings.
“They said they messed up on a calculation and now I have to pay for something they messed up on,” said Garcia. “I asked if he could tell me what was wrong with it, and he couldn’t tell me; he just wanted the money.”
The con artists tried to make a reasonable excuse, saying that they have tried to contact him by mail, but they only had his address from 2000.
Garcia’s suspicions arose when he realized every year he files his taxes, he verifies where he lives. So if these supposed IRS agents were legitimate, they would have his tax history and contact information, he said.
“I told them that I need to talk to my military legal counsel and will call them back,” said Garcia. “They’ll ask you to verify your date of birth and social security number – so don’t do it.”
“If you receive a voicemail or call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, don’t call the number they give you to call back,” said Sgt. Dwayne Mazone, a paralegal noncommissioned officer with the 3rd ABCT. “Go to the IRS website and call the official number. From there, you can get true and accurate information.”
For more information on IRS consumer alerts, visit the official Internal Revenue Service website at https://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts.
| Date Taken: | 01.22.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 01.22.2016 18:11 |
| Story ID: | 186880 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 236 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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