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SWC’s 10 Point Identity Theft Recovery Action Plan Means You Can Close the Barn Door

By |2022-03-16T15:31:21-07:00March 16, 2022|Categories: Fraud Prevention|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

Despite huge advances in cyber security, identity and digital wallet theft is on the rise, and experts cite a perfect storm of circumstances as a major reason.

For one thing, more people are working from home, and they’re working without the protections of corporate networks which are more reliable at blocking phishing schemes than home networks are. In addition, there are more transactions being handled online these days, including the electronic forwarding of unemployment checks and other government benefits.

Then there are the lingering fears about COVID that make some people vulnerable to online tactics dreamed up by nefarious hackers that enable them to steal your personal information and access your online accounts. And having more of your information stored in the cloud doesn’t help matters in the least.

We’ve all heard the expression about “shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted.” It’s a folksy idiom that means it’s too late to try and stop something that has already happened. It’s a futile effort because, of course, the horse is history.

Unfortunately, even if you are being careful and doing all the right things to prevent identity theft, you can still fall victim to it. That’s why it is so important to know how to recover when the unforeseeable and unavoidable happens to you.

Which is why, in this post, I present SWC’s 10 Point Identity Theft Recovery Action Plan.

(Click for free download — Identity Theft Recovery Action Plan.)

Rest assured that, as your trusted tax planning and financial strategy adviser, we take every precaution to safeguard your personal information, and we’re here to help. If you’ve fallen victim to identity theft, call our offices to find out how we can be of service. We’ll get your wayward steed back in the stall.

Step 1: Don’t Panic

Fear increases your vulnerability to identity theft. Panic makes it worse. You’re not legally liable for crimes that other people commit using the personal information they stole from you. So just scratch that concern off your list.

Likewise, if someone used your personal information to steal from you, you should be able to get your money back. For example, if a con artist filed a fraudulent tax return using your name and their address to steal your tax refund, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) still owes you that refund.

Pro Tip: While you shouldn’t panic, you should act with a sense of urgency. The faster you do all the right things, the less damage you’re likely to suffer, and the greater the chances the perpetrator of the crime(s) will be caught and brought to justice.

Keep a detailed record of all the steps you take to curtail the damage, along with all the documentation you collect along the way. A written record will smooth the path to recovering any losses and protecting you from any losses that others (for example, your bank or creditors) may suffer as a result.

Step 2: Contact All Organizations That May Be Impacted

Although identity theft involves your personal information, it also impacts companies and organizations you do transactions with, so be sure to involve them in your recovery plan: Continue reading…

How to Protect Yourself Against 2022 Tax and Unemployment Scams

By |2022-02-21T12:26:51-08:00February 21, 2022|Categories: Fraud Prevention|Tags: , , , , |0 Comments

It’s tax filing season — prime time for scum of the earth con artists to crawl out from under their rocks with novel ways to steal identities and scam people out of their hard-earned money.

That means it’s time for us, as one of Southern California’s premier women-owned tax planning and financial strategy firms, to let you know what to watch out for and how to protect yourself. By remaining vigilant and reporting suspicious activity to relevant government agencies and law enforcement, we can start gaining the upper hand over these criminals.

IRS scam graphic

In this post, we call your attention to four primary methods used to steal identities and tax refunds. We’ll also reveal common warning signs and offer guidance on what to do when you notice suspicious activity.

Text Message Scams

Text message scams usually involve someone pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Over the last couple of years, fraudulent text messages have focused mostly on COVID-19 or “stimulus payments,” and included one or more links claiming to point to IRS websites or relevant online tools.

If you receive an unsolicited text/SMS message that appears to be from either the IRS or a program closely linked to it, take a screenshot of the text message and email it to phishing@irs.gov with the following information: Continue reading…

How to Handle a Taxpayer Identification Verification Request from the IRS

By |2021-06-30T12:26:24-07:00June 30, 2021|Categories: Fraud Prevention|Tags: , |0 Comments

Receiving an unexpected letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seldom a good thing, and when it’s asking you to verify your identity, your brain heats up with red flags, warning sirens, questions, and concerns. Have I fallen victim to identity theft? Is this a phishing scam? Are con artists now posing as IRS agents to get my personal information? What should I do?

First and foremost, don’t panic. Most people’s instinct when they receive such a letter is to click a link (if they received it via email) or visit the website or call the phone number provided in the letter to find out what it’s about. And if the letter is part of a phishing scam, that’s exactly what the con artist wants you to do.

Is This Letter Really From the IRS?

If you received a notice out of the blue from the IRS via email, text, or even through one of your social media accounts, it’s probably not from the IRS. That’s not how they roll. When the IRS needs to contact a taxpayer, they typically do so in the form of a printed letter delivered by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

If you received a printed letter in the mail, examine the envelop and letter closely for signs of fraud, including the following: Continue reading…

Protecting Your Business Against Theft, Embezzlement, and Fraud, Part 12: Small Business Guide to Reducing Your Tax Burden Legally

By |2022-03-01T16:25:14-08:00October 28, 2020|Categories: Fraud Prevention, Small Business Guide to Legally Reducing Your Tax Burden|Tags: , , , , , |1 Comment

Editor’s note: Welcome to the final installment of our 12-part series — “Small Business Guide to Reducing Your Tax Burden Legally.” Admittedly, this final installment is technically outside the scope of this series in that it has little to do with saving money on taxes. However, it does have a lot to do with keeping more of the money you earn as a small-business owner.

Another difference is that we recruited a contributor to write this post — Jen Rodriguez, a Southern California-based forensic accountant with a Master of Accountancy and more than 20 years’ experience in accounting, operations, and data management. Rodriguez is also a graduate of Florida Atlantic University’s Forensic Accounting, Digital Forensics, and Data Analytics master’s program.

Protecting Your Business Against Theft, Embezzlement, and Fraud
By Jen Rodriguez, MAcc

Today’s headlines are filled with stories about small-business fraud, but a vast majority of these stories are about small-businesses committing fraud against the government. Most recently, the news media have focused on fraud involving the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) — the federal government program designed to keep small businesses solvent during the coronavirus pandemic. The PPP provided ample opportunity for con artists and dishonest small-business owners to defraud the government — and you, the taxpayers — of millions of dollars.

Protecting a business against fraud.

What you hear much less about are the far more common crimes against small businesses, many of which are committed by trusted employees. These crimes include the following:

  • Theft: Stealing money or property from the business outright.
  • Embezzlement: Diverting money or property from the business for the employee’s own personal use.
  • Fraud: Tricking a business into “voluntarily” giving away money or property.

These crimes cut into the profits of any business, but they can be especially devastating to small businesses, and are more difficult and costly for those small businesses to protect against and recover from. In this post, I look at the high costs of these workplace crimes (often referred to as occupational fraud); suggest ways that small businesses can protect against, detect, and recover from these crimes; and highlight the importance of retaining professional services when necessary.

Recognizing the High Costs of Theft, Embezzlement, and Fraud

The U.S. economy is built on the backs of small-business owners, who collectively account for $8.5 trillion dollars of the country’s $17 trillion Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Unfortunately, as we all know, money attracts thieves, and small businesses are often the easiest targets.

Criminal schemes targeting small businesses rarely attract public attention and often go undetected for many years. That’s no surprise given the fact that crimes targeting small businesses are often inside jobs committed by trusted employees. In fact, employees are stealing more than employers are aware. Recent statistics on employee theft reports that 75 percent of employees have admitted to stealing from their employer once, and 37.5 percent have stolen twice.

To protect their businesses and their own financial health, small business owners must Continue reading…

© 2014- Stees, Walker & Company, LLP (SWC). All rights reserved.
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