Tax season is scam season

By Melanis Davis
melanie@mountaintimes.com

Scams are running rampant across the nation and affecting those in the High Country.

A mysterious charge is showing up on bank statements and credit card statements across the country. The charge is listed from a business titled ICH Services. The amount is reported to stay in the $9.70 to $9.85 range, never exceeding $10. There is a telephone number shown with the charge, but calls are forwarded directly to a voice mail. The description is a “stationary/school supply store.”

If a transaction from ICH Services is noted on a bank or credit card statement, the customer should immediately notify the financial institution and dispute the charge.

This will allow banks to begin the process of tracking the origin. If a transaction is found to be fraudulent, the amount is returned to the customer. Individuals should consider canceling the credit or debit card charges and ordering a new to prevent a repeat.

Tracking spending can prevent falling victim to a scam of this nature. The amount of $9.70 is small and may go unnoticed, or simply overlooked as a forgotten charge.

There are also a few email scams to note.
A statement from the Watauga County Sheriff’s Office warns residents of a threatening e-mail scam reported by a local resident. The scam preys on fear, threatening to kill recipients if thousands of dollars is not sent to the sender.

WCSO warns residents not to reply to the email. Many Internet scams are sent to numerous, random email addresses. “Replying to the e-mail just sends a signal to senders that they’ve reached a live account. It also escalates the intimidation.” said Capt. Dee Dee Rominger of WSCO.

Rominger recommended deleting unopened and unsolicited emails.
A second email scam is emerging just in time for tax season. There have been reported “refund” and “audit” emails. The emails are very convincing and direct the recipient to a Web site which appears very similar to the Internal Revenue Service Web site.

The second “audit” email displays a feature not seen before. The scam contains a greeting, naming the target specifically. Due to volume, most email scams are not personalized.

These are phony. A statement from the IRS says the department does not send unsolicited, tax-account related emails.

As usual, there are telephone scams, in which the caller pretends to be a bank officer or IRS officer promising a monetary payment to be direct deposited. The caller will then ask for your bank account numbers and other personal information. The best protection is to avoid giving this information over the telephone, unless the phone was initiated by the customer.

The goal of most scammers is to obtain enough information to commit identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission offers these tips to prevent becoming a victim: protect your social security number, treat your trash and mail carefully, be on guard when using the Internet, select intricate passwords, verify sources before sharing information, safeguard your purse and wallet, and store information in secure locations.