Residential Real EstateSlick Identity Thieves After Your Cash
Federal banking and tax officials are warning consumers and lenders about a multi-state gang of slick identity thieves out to steal personal financial information to gain access to large chunks of your cash.
Households have reported receiving a bogus letter and fake Internal Revenue Service forms, purportedly from their banks.
The letter requests that you fill out and fax in the forms within seven days or, the faux missive warns, the government will withhold 31 percent of the interest on your bank accounts.
The phony letter begins: "Dear Customer, We are currently updating our resident, non-resident alien and citizen records. This is to enable us (sic) detect persons exempted from the United States reporting and withholding tax on interest paid to you on your bank account and other financial dealings," which amounts to gibberish, but sounds all too much like financial business jargon found in legitimate letters from financial services.
The phony form asks for your account numbers, personal identification numbers (PIN), passwords, date of birth, mother"s maiden name, date and amount of your last deposit, phone and fax numbers, where and when you worked in the last 12 months and a host of other information.
Much of the information is highly personal financial information you"d typically provide only under the most secure conditions and certainly not by fax. It"s the kind of information you often have to present to withdraw, transfer and deposit funds by telephone or electronically -- but only after you have initiated the request.
That"s just what the identity thieves want -- to contact your bank pretending to be you and gain access to your funds.
"Accordingly, when the perpetrator of the fraud contacts your bank in person, telephonically or through electronic means, they have all the necessary customer information to appear credible," the Treasury"s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Administrator of National Banks said in "Alert 2002-3 -- Identity Theft Description: Fictitious IRS Forms and Bank Letters Date: April 5, 2002" sent recently to lending institutions.
Once the crooks have your information only voice-stamp security could prevent them from completing the crime and that"s virtually never available.
"These incidents are not limited to the customers of small community banks. Documents like those attached are being circulated nationwide in an attempt to steal your customer"s identity and money by having your customer disclose personal and banking information," the OCC"s alert says.
Officials say immigrants and others living abroad may be especially vulnerable because the fake letter appears to target them and they may not speak English or be familiar with privacy laws and security systems in place to protect personal financial information, savings and investments.
Identity theft is considered the nation"s fastest growing crime and the IRS says the latest scam involves these phony forms:
Form "W-9095, Application Form for Certificate Status/Ownership for Withholding Tax".
The IRS has no form W-9095, but the fictitious one mimics the genuine IRS Form W-9 "Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification".
Form "W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding."
The IRS does have a legitimate form with the same name and number, but the fake one, which targets residents of foreign countries who bank in the United States, has been altered to ask for highly personal information not requested by the real form.
Form "W-8888"
This form is completely fictitious and asks for private information.
The IRS has received reports of the scam from residents abroad and in California, Georgia, Maine, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Washington state, but the investigating agency, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), refused to release information about the full number, location or identity of the victims or whether any had actually lost money.
Meanwhile, the Treasury offers the following advice.
Do not complete or fax in the forms.
Report the mailing to the inspector general"s toll-free fraud hot line (800) 366-4484 or mail a complaint to TIGTA Hot Line, P.O. Box 589, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044-0589.
If you"ve already completed and faxed in the form, immediately contact the fraud or security department of your creditor, bank, or other financial institution. Also contact your local police department and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at (206) 442-6300.
Victims should also report the scam to the fraud units of the three major credit-reporting bureaus: Equifax (800) 525-6285), Experian (888) 397-3742) and Trans Union (800) 680-7289.
Learn more about identity theft from The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse; FirstGov For Consumers; and OCC.