Scammers already trying to take advantage of rebates

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YANKTON, S.D. (AP) -- An economic stimulus package hasn't even passed Congress yet, and already scammers are trying to take advantage of it, according to Carrie Resch of the Internal Revenue Service office in St. Paul, Minn.

"Somebody's already figured out a way to use it as a scam," Resch said Friday in an interview.

...

"What we've got reports of is that people are receiving a phone call where the person tells the victim they're eligible for a sizable rebate for filing their taxes early," she said. "And then they tell the caller that they just need to get some bank account information so that they can directly deposit the rebate."

Those answering the calls then are told that if they refuse, they won't be able to get their rebate, Resch said.

"And that phone call is absolutely a scam," she said.

"Of course, no legislation has even been enacted yet regarding that. And we also at the IRS don't force taxpayers to use direct deposit. If you're going to opt for that, you would choose it on your tax return and the IRS would not be gathering information about your bank accounts via telephone."

Anyone who gets suspicious calls should not provide any personal or financial information, Resch said.

"Hang up and then you can report that call to us," the IRS spokeswoman said. "And similarly, if you get an e-mail that's questionable, you can report that to us as well. We have an e-mail box set up that people can send those to us."

AP

'Our' penal genealogy is showing.

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1. Not New, We Got Several Calls 2 Years Ago

from a guy with a heavy Indian accent claiming he was from the IRS and that we were due a rebate. First time he got my teen son and he had all of our names and said he needed a bank account to deposit it in. My son said (quite honestly) that he didn't know and that the guy would have to call back later after we got home from work. My son then promptly called me at work because he was suspicious.

The guy actually had the nerve to call back at 9 pm that evening still and tell me he was from the IRS. Jheesh! I, of course, informed him that. as far as I knew, the IRS had not yet been outsourced to India, didn't work after hours and didn't ask for banking information over the phone. He kept insisting the call was legitimate until I told him that if he ever called back, I would call the CIA. Needless to say, he never did. I still wonder where he got all of our names.

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2. Most of 'our' information resides in databases overseas. nt