Scammers and The Love of Money

Paul, the Apostle states that “the love of money” is the primary cause of evil in the world (I Tim. 6:10, Heb. 13:5). Money as the means of financial exchange for goods and services; it is also a viaduct for unlawful enrichment by scammers. Scammers use various devices to steal money from soon-to-be victims. Scammers can appear to be friendly or utilize extreme intimidation measures to collect personal and financial information from unsuspecting individuals.

Think you are too smart to be scammed. MBA graduates who concentrated on Accounting, Business Law, Finance and other related fields are scammed too. Read an article about people who think they will never be scammed.

For a moment, think about Breyer’s Ice Cream – Creamesicle. Creamesicle is a blend of orange juice and crème- a delicious ice cream treat. Now, Breyer could create “Strawberrysicle” ice cream by substituting whipped strawberries for orange juice and add cream to the mixture. Using the same formula, the result could be a tasty new treat for consumers.

Likewise, these thieves often use a successful scam and repackage it as a new scam. Examples of this are: Nigerian Prince Scam, Spanish Prisoner Scam, and 419 Scam.

Scammers use marketing templates as a lead generation tool to connect with unsuspecting victims. They use the similar telephone phrases like “Thank you for calling, my name is _, how can I help you today?”, “Excellent, we can help you with that.”, “Great….,,”,”Perfect……”, etcetera. These marketing templates succeed because they generate customer confidence with legitimate and illegitimate call center representatives. Tax scammers want information from victims for the purpose of filing fraudulent tax returns, or even stealing your identity.

So, if you are a person with a tax problem, you need to be careful and vigilant as to whom you seek help from. Seek to engage in dialogue with the IRS, state and local tax authorities for problem resolution. If necessary, you may need a qualified tax representative to help you. Representation can be provided by the tax preparer, accountant, or tax law firm. Be concerned about offers that seem too good to be true. Verify help offers by contacting Better Business Bureau, or tax authorities.

The IRS offers sound advice to consumers. Visit IRS Urges Public to Stay Alert for Scam Phone Calls. Be sure to notify your state, Be sure to notify your state and local authorities plus your financial institutions. Remember, the IRS, state and local tax authorities will never call you; they will contact you by mail. If feel you have been compromised by scam activity, contact the IRS Smart people are victims of scammers too!