There’s a Tax Scam for Everything

Wow! That didn’t take long. This alert comes from the office of the Attorney General of Texas.

ALERT
Scammers Taking Advantage of New Federal Economic Stimulus Package

Texans should be aware of a scam that has emerged in connection with the proposed federal economic stimulus package. Under recently passed legislation, the IRS will mail tax rebate checks to eligible Texans over the next few months. President Bush has indicated he will sign the package into law on Wednesday.

Several Texans recently filed complaints with the Office of the Attorney General after receiving unsolicited e-mails and telephone calls from purported IRS agents claiming that the taxpayers are eligible for “Bush refunds.” The scammers demand taxpayers’ Social Security and bank account numbers, claiming the IRS will use the information to directly deposit “rebate checks” into the taxpayers’ accounts.

This is outright identity theft fraud. The IRS does not call or e-mail taxpayers unexpectedly to demand personal information for direct deposits. Taxpayers solicited in this manner should just hang up or delete the e-mail.

Texans who have received these bogus solicitations can file a complaint with the IRS at www.irs.gov or by calling (800) 829-1040. Consumers also can report such calls to our office.

Sincerely,

Greg Abbott
Attorney General of Texas

I love how the scammers refer to the stimulus rebates as ‘Bush refunds’. It appears that even scammers want to blame Bush for something. Also, I’m glad to see that Greg Abbott is still around doing something although do you really want your state’s Attorney General’s name to be associated with a song entitled ‘Shake You Down’.

I’ll keep you posted if (when) this garbage makes its way to Georgia.