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Post by stepper on Feb 25, 2016 19:50:59 GMT -6
I'm sure you're right about that, but I don't know anyone else having the problem or who had to cope with filing after someone else successfully filed in their name.
I thought so too. Until I looked.
From a quick drill - the IRS has 3,000 personnel who work on identity theft issues, and 35,000 who work with taxpayers to recognize identity theft indicators and help people victimized by identity theft.
While they do track down and prosecute some of them, it seems the majority get away with it or at least avoid culpability for filing a false return. Earlier this month CNBC published an article claiming tax fraud would hit 21 Billion dollars by 2016. This is more from their article: "Here's a conspicuous flaw in the system as currently set up: To file a tax return electronically, all someone needs is a name, date of birth and an SSN. The IRS accepts tax filings as soon as Jan. 1, but employers aren't required to submit correct employment information to the agency until March, by which time roughly half of all refunds have been paid out. (For that matter, the IRS doesn't begin matching employer-submitted data to tax returns until the summer.)
By law, the tax-refund system as it is currently constituted amounts to a "pay first, ask questions later" system, said Victor Searcy, director of fraud operations at IDT911, an identity protection and risk services firm in Scottsdale, Arizona. In other words, an imaginative crook in possession of the three basic items of a person's identity could make up fake W-2 information and submit it, and get the money within 30 days—the amount of time the law says that the agency must refund tax filers.
Some obvious red flags—like multiple checks being sent to one address, or multiple deposits being sent to one account or one debit card—are detected, but often refund checks are mailed to those accounts before they're followed up on within the agency, said Searcy."
What "I" found was that they have an electronic process in place for the purpose of stopping the processing of fraudulent returns. They send you a form letter (a 5071c), you go to their website, prove that you are who you say, and then they ask only one question - did you file yet? You say no and that kills the false return. They won't say what the triggers are that cause them to think it's a faked return - which I understand - but now I believe their system detected a trigger and that's what started all this.
It seems that I am the only one around here. I didn't keep this secret intending to warn others to be careful, but only one person I know (who is in DC) has had a problem and that was last year. It's not something I'd wish on anyone, but I know I'm not the only one. They wouldn't have the extensive computerized process (detect/notify/process or no) if it wasn't a correspondingly costly problem.
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Post by stepper on Mar 12, 2016 16:03:31 GMT -6
I don't remember what thread it was in, but we were talking with Kat about how to bold and underline posts. I just realized there's another way.
Type a word, highlight the part you want bolded, and then type CTRL B. It works for underling and italics too.
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Post by stepper on Apr 8, 2016 20:14:04 GMT -6
Remember my recent snit about someone filing a false return in my name? The saga continues…
Short version (really – it is the short version), when I got home I had a letter from TurboTax. They want their money from where I filed earlier this year. It had a 1-800 number incase it wasn't really me. I called the number and it's not specific to this problem - it's a general call in number. After some fussing and much waiting they finally tracked down a control number - except it told them only that the letter had been sent and to start their processes they needed an e-mail address. I gave them the one for work, but I had to look it up first since I don’t often write to myself which meant starting my system - more waiting. Once they had my e-mail address and the number from their letter they sent me, they bounced me to another number (insert more waiting for someone to free up and answer here) - but my information didn't get forwarded as it's a different division. Lots more questions and confusion because they can't find the return that got filed; even with their control number they can only look for (Stepper) and the first couple of the zip code because I won't give them my SSAN. They say they are getting too many hits. Finally, the lady got a hit on the control number I was giving her - after several tries I got her to understand that a character in the middle of the string was an O and not 0 – she had said O (oh) for both. Then she told me the person had filed not only a federal return, but numerous state tax returns too. I told her this was nuts. It’s their company, they sent me a letter saying they want money, here’s the control number associated with all this, but they want me to give them enough information to nearly file this year’s return? Not gonna happen.
And, the day's not over yet. Remember I connected to the internet so I could get my address and today's e-mails? My anti-virus decided my new AT&T connect program was a virus and it deleted it. Again, another long story made short; I uninstalled what was left of the existing programs, got them to reinstall, and still no love from the computer. It appeared to all be there but it refused to actually connect to the internet. I called AT&T and managed to work my way through their voice system until I got a help desk person. At last. A very nice girl who seems knowledgeable. She had me pull the SIM card out of the wireless receiver and clean the gold contacts with an eraser. Then reinstall it and darned if that didn't fix my connection problems. On top of that, she stayed on the line and ensured their program updates loaded up okay.
One other thing. The other person who was supposed to work on the Help Desk with me today called in sick so I had the desk, and all of the problems, to myself. All day. You can’t imagine what it’s like to have people who are already upset calling you, and you’re not in the best mood because it doesn’t stop when you are on your own. Then come home to all that stuff I just mentioned.
It's been a heck of a day.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 9, 2016 7:13:31 GMT -6
Sorry for all of your customer service woes. I've had days like that; seems like multiple things go wrong at once, you've got multiple places you've got to call to correct them, and once you finally get through to an actual person, it seems like it was all for nothing.
And then every once in a while you get people like that girl...
...which is why those kinds of people are such gems.
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Post by stepper on Apr 9, 2016 15:42:00 GMT -6
Thanks. That's an accurate description of the TurboTax adventure. They weren't openly hostile, but they clearly weren't going out of their way. I get it to a point - their job is to gather information to pass on to the company for resolution and action as necessary - but they're missing the point that "I'm" the victim here and what I'm doing is in response to that situation. I'm not depriving them of income for my own gain - I'm telling them I'm not paying an unjust debt.
We were just chatting while the programs downloaded to my system. I was saying it hadn't been a good day and why. She said she understood - her son was a Marine who was currently deployed to Afghanistan and he was dealing with credit card fraud. She said it was a nightmare trying to help him work it all out. We chatted weather a little too - and I mentioned that I had recently picked my first bell pepper from a plant that overwintered here. It was turning red so it was time. She said she'd never heard of that, that green peppers left on the plant a bit longer would turn red and sweet. And then the re-install completed, the internet connection came up correctly, and we didn't have a reason to chat any longer.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 10, 2016 7:11:35 GMT -6
The best customer service comes from people who realize they are talking to people.
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Post by stepper on Apr 10, 2016 13:27:19 GMT -6
And remember that even if unnecessary for you, it helps if you listen for a few minutes and let the other person unload the frustration.
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Post by Spock on Apr 10, 2016 15:35:05 GMT -6
... You can’t imagine what it’s like to have people who are already upset calling you, and you’re not in the best mood because it doesn’t stop when you are on your own. Then come home to all that stuff I just mentioned. It's been a heck of a day. I think that's the main reason I quit working Customer Service after about 3 years. Didn't feel like taking other peoples $#!7 any more.
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Post by stepper on Apr 11, 2016 18:33:28 GMT -6
I can't blame you Spock. Some days it taxes my patience quite a bit. Most of the people are pretty happy about getting settings fixed or problems resolved; you can hear the tension leaving when they realize you're on their side, and some of them acknowledge it verbally, but they're still in a hurry and off they go. No one has ever acknowledged the assistance in writing. The lack of gratitude not limited to the Help Desk though.
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Post by Phalon on Apr 11, 2016 21:22:37 GMT -6
I think surviving customer service is a bit...or maybe a lot like the teaching profession. A professor, for example, may know everything in his field, but not be suited to teach; they're accomplished in their chosen field of study. A teacher, on the other hand, goes to college specifically to learn how to teach - it is their goal to teach, and they want to do it. A good customer service provider must know the service they're providing, but they must also, not only like people in general, they need to have a desire to deal with the public. It sounds simple, but it's definitely not for everybody.
I don't see that as a lack of gratitude. You are doing your a job, and doing it well. How many times have you written a letter when someone has done their job exceptionally well, and saved you some headache? The very nice girl at AT&T for example - did you write her, or her supervisor a letter? I'm not being, as Joxie would say, "snarky"; I'm serious. A few times a year maybe, if that, you may actually sit down and send off an appreciation letter...if you're like me, probably less times than you wished, because you may think you want to acknowledge their job well done in writing, but you get busy, and when you do have a spare minute so much time has gone by that you've forgotten about it. Most times we thank them graciously, give them a nice tip if appropriate, and we're on our way. It's unfortunate we often don't have the time to write letters, or even a short note, but it's more common to not write a letter than it is to write one. I wouldn't think of taking that as a lack of gratitude.
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Post by Spock on Apr 12, 2016 13:23:32 GMT -6
When I'm out in public and someone at a store has helped me I give them a GOOHF card. I tell them it protects them from people with no sense of humor ... or just no sense! When you read the back , the last "sin" explains it all, I can't do that when I talk with someone on the phone. If they have been particularly helpful, and I think they will understand, I send them to the website where I purchase the cards. goohf.com/It's really amazing how many people "get" the joke. There is still about .01% that hand the card back while saying, "I don't need this, I'm already saved." They're the ones who really need it!
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Post by stepper on Apr 12, 2016 19:32:58 GMT -6
Or you can work for the DoD where they can assign you "additional duties as required." The help desk and what it requires is far from what I was hired to do - and it's a bit hard to describe within the limitations imposed on us. In truth, working the help desk is not mentally taxing nearly so much as it is vexing. People who call for help as opposed to submitting a ticket (the thing they are supposed to do) are frequently in a hurry to do "now" something they should have done last week. They have their own ideas about what they want to resolve their problem, and the idea there's really a better way that takes a few minutes to set up is not worth their time. They're frequently in "now" mode. Surprisingly, this is rarely true of those who are contacting us from whereeveristan.
First - it's extremely rare. It's been my observation that for the protection of the individual on the other end of the line, they are permitted to give out only first names, and or ID numbers that roll by so fast unless you are prepared up front you won't catch all the numbers, and even when asked they'll refuse to give out numbers except for a generic 1-800 type. I remember one person who asked that I NOT write an expression of appreciation as their management took that as an indication of favoritism towards a customer for some reason, or having been lax and spent too much time with an individual customer when they should have been getting things done. I was able to make sure the AT&T lady understood that I really did appreciate her help, but conveying that to her superiors didn't appear to be an option.
It depends on environment. I normally eschew these things so I really don't get why it has been bugging me recently (and I hope the mood passes soon) but in some environments, management divvies up yearly award money and time off hours based on, at least to some extent, public recognition. I wouldn't mind a bit of that kind of recognition. But as you said, we too often don't have the time.
Okay - I admit I'm a bit nuts. Frequently when people call (especially early in the day) they'll say "Hi, this is Joe Schmoe. How's it going (or How ya doin)?" Before they can go on, I'll answer the question.
'Oh man! You wouldn't believe it! I've been here a whole 11 minutes and STILL haven't managed a coffee break!' or 'You wouldn't believe it. I came to work, but, people keep calling! It's soooo irritating, ya know? How am I supposed to do anything with the phone ringing all the time?'
Since it's a help desk, most people catch on and play along for a moment or two. And when they do, everything, including their mood, is better.
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Post by stepper on May 20, 2016 20:27:14 GMT -6
Normally I would have my tax return safely in a bank by now, but the IRS hasn't even acknowledged that they got my forms. I get it, sort of; the problem with the identity thief is slowing things down. But the on line status check doesn't even show that they've received my return and I've been thinking it's time to call them. Today I got another letter from the IRS. It doesn't really say anything new - instructions on how to get a PIN for filing returns. It says they've flagged my SSAN for extra scrutiny that will last for several years, and that they have multiple returns in my name. I'm hoping 'multiple' means two - the fake one and the real one. They say they have the returns straightened out and that I don't have to do anything extra, but I'm still waiting. They also say they won't tell me anything about the faked return - I don't understand that. So here I am, still waiting. Grrr.
Yesterday I got an e-mail from LinkedIn (one of two other sites where I have a user id) - because of outside activity they set my account to force a password change. I was thinking it was the identity theft thing again but today I saw an article - on Fox News I think - but it said someone was claiming they had 100,000,000+ user ids and passwords for LinkedIn accounts for sale. Guess I was jumping to the obvious, and wrong, conclusions again.
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Post by Spock on May 21, 2016 13:56:09 GMT -6
Identity thieves should get the death penalty ...
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Post by Mini Mia on May 21, 2016 14:45:23 GMT -6
They should lose their identity.
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Post by Spock on May 21, 2016 16:53:25 GMT -6
They should lose their identity.No, not really. Then they would be outside the "system" and harder to track down. Something awful needs to happen to anyone stealing someone elses identity. Something that would make any potential identity thief realize it just isn't worth it. I know, send them to the latest war zone instead of our troops!
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Post by Phalon on May 21, 2016 23:12:39 GMT -6
I'd call. Could be your return doesn't show online that it's been received or is being processed because it's being handled differently than is typical because of the fake filing.
A natural reaction to assume the two were related. I'd think the same thing.
The death penalty is just a tiny bit excessive, I'm thinking, though stiffer penalties would seem in order. I think identity theft is a felony in most states, though a lesser charge than a Class A felony, I believe.
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Post by stepper on May 22, 2016 14:20:19 GMT -6
I was wondering if that was the case - like maybe they're not putting it out there because of the fake return in an attempt to get ‘them’ to do something else and perhaps catch them. That'd be great!
This is so bad - I was thinking a life sentence served in a penitentiary for really dangerous people, and letting it slip that he's a pedophile.
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Post by Phalon on May 23, 2016 6:07:43 GMT -6
Oh! That's it! Since they are so intent on using identities other than their own, give them an identity that is not their own before throwing them in prison...Earl Bradley (serial pedophile), or Clive Howard (serial rapist), for example.
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Post by stepper on May 23, 2016 19:16:25 GMT -6
Planning revenge has a certain satisfaction.
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Post by Phalon on Jun 8, 2016 6:48:33 GMT -6
Posting this here, because it kind of, sort of fits in with the most recent discussion in this thread about theft and scams. While I'm sure no one here would fall for this, maybe there are nieces, nephews, children of friends of the members here who might benefit from knowing this scam exists. Maybe even Spock's members of his website for young people should know about this.
LX has been looking through the college's student employment listings; they post jobs both on and off campus. An off-campus job opportunity was listed for a 'Busy executive seeking a personal assistant' to perform duties such as basic correspondence, checking his post office box, picking up office supplies, making hotel reservations, etc.. It was 10-15 hours per week, and he was willing to work around the student's class schedule. LX sent her resume to the e-mail provided.
She checked the same site for new postings, and the listing was gone; she mentioned it to me only because she thought the job had been filled, and was somewhat disappointed. I thought it was a bit strange, because the listings on the site last for 90 days, regardless if the job opportunity no longer exists. The post had also been taken down from the student employment service's Facebook page.
I ran a drill on the executive's company: Baum Consulting, LLC, and the "executive's" name, Corey Baum. Nothing came up in the college town; in fact, nothing came up anywhere. Alarms start sounding in my head.
She texts me a few days later, and says she got an e-mail from the guy, detailing the aspects of the job, and that it pays $15 an hour to essentially run errands. Fifteen dollars an hour is a lucrative wage for a college kid...and an outrageous wage to pay someone to run errands. "Hey, I can be a gofer for some rich business guy!", she texted me. And "the guy sounds kind of like an idiot though; he can't even write a proper sentence." More alarms, and I told her it was very sketchy sounding. She had already responded to the guy that she was interested in the opportunity.
A day later she gets another e-mail that she forwarded to me, because it's "very shady sounding". He's decided to hire her; can she start this week? He's an independent engineer who is in Brazil for the rest of the month, conducting research on gold-mining in the Amazon rainforest, and will mail her a check to cover what he needs to be done for the week, as well as her wages and travel expenses.
I told her it sounded completely bogus and not to accept. She said she already declined...not because it sounded like a scam, but because gold-mining in the rain forest is illegal.
I called student employment services Monday to find out why exactly they took the job listing down, and to inform them of a possible scam....which the supervisor told me was exactly why the job was removed from the website. They'd received a call from a student who saw the listing; a friend of his goes to a different college and fell for the scam. Checks are mailed to the "employee" in amounts of $1000.00 to $2,500; they are told to deposit them into their checking account, and pay the executive's expenses from that. Then, of course, the checks start to bounce, and the student is left holding the bill. LX's college has "a drawer filled" with such checks, turned in by students who were suspicious enough not to cash them.
I wonder how many kids didn't turn in the checks, and ended up more broke than they already were.
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Post by stepper on Jun 8, 2016 21:55:33 GMT -6
First - thanks for posting the warning. Hopefully people will recognize and avoid this version of the fake check scam which is one of the many current and growing scams.
The basic components are all there. You are searching job boards or web sites and find the perfect solution. Good pay for ridiculously easy "work", an employer person/company in a foreign country, easy adjustable hours, deposit a check they send you, you deposit in YOUR personal account and you use the money to do the job, keep your expenses from the deposit amount, your employment is immediate, etc.
One warning you didn't mention is that some of these people require personal information as a part of the job application process. Copy of your drivers license (which includes your date of birth), SSAN for tax purposes, your bank direct deposit information supposedly for money transfers to you. At this point you might as well just open your wallet and give them your money directly, and things like tax returns just got complicated. Since you are responsible for management of your account, when things go bad (like the check turning out to be a fake – which can actually take weeks) you are responsible for the funds. And, banks are in the habit of flagging people who fall for these scams which results in more difficult banking in all banks, not just yours. They share the list. NEVER give out this kind of information until you have verified the prospective employer is legitimate. One site said you should not trust any job offer found a any web site with the exception of USAJOBS.COM (the civil service job offer site), and even then you should first double check the URL to ensure you haven't been redirected to a scam site.
A Google check for Fake Check Scam got 10,800,000 hits and several of these are from official places such as the FTC, or various news organizations reporting on people who were scammed or backed off because something was fishy.
Especially telling for these scams is poor English; misspelled words and/or sentences that are grammatically incorrect are surprisingly common indicators. Unfortunately, these people are willing to scam anyone – but the most innocent and trusting people are the ones who tend to fall for these scams.
The old rule still applies: if it looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is.
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Post by stepper on Jun 8, 2016 22:04:22 GMT -6
The last scam post (I think) was from Spock a couple years ago - something about an e-mail scam. I know we've had various posts/threads referring to specific scams, and we've sort of thought about a scam thread, but maybe it's time to actually start one up. What 'cha think?
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 9, 2016 3:44:54 GMT -6
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Post by stepper on Jun 9, 2016 16:27:46 GMT -6
Since I started the whine here...the IRS web site has finally acknowledged receipt of my return. Still no word on when it will be finalized.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 9, 2016 18:22:24 GMT -6
I hope your nightmare is over soon.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 9, 2016 19:28:31 GMT -6
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Post by stepper on Jun 12, 2016 11:19:06 GMT -6
The latest from the IRS - my return has been approved and should be deposited this week. Yeah!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 12, 2016 22:09:07 GMT -6
Yay!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 13, 2016 2:50:38 GMT -6
I love "Sylvia's Mother." So I listened to it on YouTube ... and this video was on the page list:
And then I did a 2-minute drill and found this:
www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4300
Wow! Did not realize that Shel Silverstein wrote songs.
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