As a matter of
fact the IRS recently issued a warning about the new scheme. Scammers
have been targeting senior citizens, members of church groups, working families
and other potential victims this tax season. Just like the person that
talked to me, the schemes promise large tax refunds to people who have little
or no income and normally don’t have a tax filing requirement. Promoters claim
they can obtain for their victims a tax refund or nonexistent stimulus payment
based on the American Opportunity Tax Credit, even if the victim was not
enrolled in or paying for college.
Con-artists
falsely claim the tax refunds are available even if the victim went to school
decades ago. A variation of the scheme also falsely claims the college credit
is available to compensate people for paying taxes on their groceries. Huh?
The schemes can
be extremely costly for the victims. Promoters may charge them exorbitant
upfront fees to file the tax claims and are often gone before victims discover
that they have been scammed.
There is a
bigger problem in that regardless of who prepared their tax return, the
taxpayer is legally responsible for the accuracy of your tax return and must
repay any refunds received in error, plus any penalties and interest. You could
even face criminal prosecution.
In recent weeks,
the IRS said it has identified and stopped an upswing in these bogus tax refund
claims coming in from across the country.
