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Grandparent scams

Beware of Coronavirus Related Scams in Florida

By Elder Law, Long-Term Care

The IRS is warning taxpayers to be on the lookout for scams related the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, which can lead to tax-related fraud and identity theft. The IRS and its Criminal Investigation Division have seen a new wave of phishing schemes against taxpayers.  Senior citizens are among the most vulnerable to these scams and should be especially careful during this time.

In its press release, the IRS reminded taxpayers that the IRS is never going to call you asking to verify or provide your financial information so you can get an economic impact payment or refund faster.  Taxpayers should watch out for emails, text messages, websites, and social media attempts that appear to be from the IRS and request money or personal information. If you receive an email that appears to be coming from the IRS, do not open it or click on attachments or links. You should go to the IRS official website, www.IRS.gov for the most up-to-date information.

The IRS also provides the following items to keep in mind, in order to protect yourself and your loved ones:

  • Scammers may emphasize the words “stimulus check” or “stimulus payment.” The official term is economic impact payment.
  • Scammers may ask the taxpayer to sign over the economic impact payment check to them.
  • Scammers may ask by phone, email, text, or social media for verification of personal and/or banking information, saying that the information is needed to receive or speed up their economic impact payment.
  • Scammers may suggest that they can get a tax refund or economic impact payment faster by working on the taxpayer’s behalf. This scam could be conducted by social media or even in person.
  • Scammers may mail the taxpayer a bogus check, perhaps in an odd amount, then tell the taxpayer to call a number or verify information online in order to cash it.

 

Taxpayers who receive unsolicited emails, text messages, or social media attempts to gather information that appear to be from the IRS should forward it to [email protected].

Fred Jacobs is a Florida Board Certified Tax Lawyer and Sean Byrne is an elder law litigator.  Contact Fred or Sean at Bach, Jacobs & Byrne, P.A. if you or a senior you know has been the target of elder exploitation or needs assistance with tax matters. Call (941) 906-1231 to schedule an appointment.

June 9, 2020
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What are “grandparent scams”?

By Elder Law

Grandparent scams are one of the most common forms of fraud committed toward seniors. They prey on the goodwill many older individuals have toward the rest of the families and their willingness to help their relatives in times of financial hardship.

A typical grandparent scam may begin with an email, a letter, a text, or a phone call from someone posing as a representative of a relative. For instance, the scammer will claim to be the lawyer, doctor, or even bail bondsman of a relative in trouble. The scammer might say something like, “Please don’t call their parents, they specifically asked me to contact you and keep this a secret from Mom and Dad.” Or, to keep the grandparent from checking with their grandchild, the scammer might attempt to convince their victim that the grandchild needn’t know about the trouble into which they’ve gotten themselves.  The grandparent will then transfer funds to the “representative” of the grandchild in need, unbeknownst to anyone else in the family.

To avoid falling victim to these nefarious scams, several steps can be taken. Following are some examples:

-Do not respond to, or take great care responding to, correspondence from any unknown individuals requesting money

-Verify the caller’s identity by asking a personal question only your relative or their personal representative would know the answer to

-If you do plan to transfer money to a relative, independently contact that relative before doing so; or, contact the parents of that relative to confirm the story you have been told

If you feel you might be the victim of elder exploitation, do not hesitate to call the attorneys at Bach, Jacobs & Byrne, P.A. for litigation representation at (941) 906-1231.

May 24, 2019
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