Wiregrass Seniors Magazine May 2018 MAY ISSUE | Page 27

WiregrassSeniorsMagazine.com Computer Tips Page 27 : For Us Seniors 3 Scams to Protect Against You can send any suspect correspondence to [email protected] and let the FTC know. If you get a fake IRS call, hang up immediately and report it to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Adminis- tration at 1-800-366-4484. You won’t pay for your new Medicare card Millions of Seniors fall prey to scams each year. Staying alert and knowing where to report financial exploitation helps stop scammers from claiming more victims. Here are three tips to keep you up- to-date on scams that are making the rounds right now. You may have heard that, beginning this spring, Medicare will be sending out new cards to all ben- Beware the (fake) IRS eficiaries. The new card removes the current So- Scammers know that taxes strike fear in the hearts cial Security-based identifying number and re- of men and women. Exploiting the Internal Revenue places it with a random number/letter sequence that Service (IRS) name and function is one way that helps to reduce identity theft and fraud. scammers have been able to get people to open their wallets. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns against scammers posing as Medicare “agents” Two types of IRS scams have been making the or health care providers telling seniors they need rounds in the past year: to purchase a replacement card. The new Medi- care cards are free, and everyone with Medicare Email “Phishing” (as in “fishing for information”). will be mailed a card between April 2018 – April Scammers send phony e-mails that claim to come 2019. The only action you need to take is to ensure from the IRS and tell victims that they are due a tax Social Security has your current address, as the refund. The victims then provide their personal and new cards will be sent to the address in their files. financial information, which can be used to steal their identities. If you’ve been solicited by a possible Medicare IRS-impersonating phone calls claiming to scammer, report it by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1- be from IRS employees, using fake names and 800-447-8477), or submit a complaint online to the bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Depart- know a lot about their targets, and use a Washing- ment of Health and Human Services. ton, DC area code (202) to seem like the IRS really Recognize how scammers make you pay is calling about unpaid taxes. The scammer may even threaten victims with arrest or, in the case of Whether it’s a phone call from someone imperson- immigrants, deportation unless they pay up imme- ating a grandchild in trouble, or a plea for a dona- diately. tion from a fake charity capitalizing on a recent di- saster, one of the quickest ways to spot a scam is It’s important to remember that the real IRS never by recognizing how you are being asked to send initiates contact with you via phone call, email, or money. through social media. The IRS cannot threaten to The Federal Trade Commission warns con- have you arrested or deported for not paying taxes. sumers that if someone says you can only pay Here’s how to tell if it really is the IRS approaching by wiring money, putting money on a gift card, you with a tax issue. or loading money onto a cash reload card: that is a scam.