Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Tax

According to Pastor Steve Munsey on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) in the clip below, God apparently created “…seed in their hand with their income tax.” And apparently we should give that income tax money straight to Pastor Munsey. He states you can “start giving your way out of trouble.” Give Pastor Munsey money, get out of trouble. Sounds good to me! Where do I send the check?

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

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Filed under: Insurance, Ripoffs and Scams

PrePaid Legal Services and companies care about it sell plans that are billed as “legal insurance.” These plans supposedly help the average consumer received “free” legal services in many cases, and discounted services in other cases. They’re often marketed as offering help to the “little guy” who might otherwise not be able to afford a lawyer.

The truth? These plans offer very tiny real help to consumers. Many types of cases are excluded under the plans, so you won’t be receiving any “free” services related to them. If you do happen to qualify for services, you’ll find out swiftly that the services are very limited and are mostly only for time spent on trial. Many hours of legal services will be needed prior to the trial, but most of this is excluded from the plans, and plan participants will have to pay out of their pockets for those services.

More details in this video. (Disclosure: I was paid by Fraud Discovery Institute to help research the issues raised in this video.)

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Record-keeping, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

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Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams, Tax, Wealth

The economy isn’t the only thing getting a (alleged) boost from the government’s economic stimulus checks, being sent out to taxpayers beginning this past week. The political windfall is also stimulating a lot of creative fraud as well.

According to story on MarketWatch, scammers are calling and emailing consumers posing as the IRS or the Social Security Administration. The callers tell consumers they need detailed bank account information or Social Security numbers in order to process their economic stimulus checks. Those consumers who fall for the scam and reveal this information are then subject to identity theft.

The story recommends some steps consumers can take to prevent getting so scammed.

• Don’t ever give out personal information such as bank account numbers, Social Security number or Mother’s Maiden name to unsolicited callers.

• Keep in mind that the IRS will NEVER call you in regards to the stimulus package. The Social Security Administration is unlikely to call you out of the blue, either. Also, remember that you’ll only get a check if you filed a tax return this year.

• Don’t click on any links in unsolicited emails — they may take you to a fraudulent site. Fraudsters these days can create very sophisticated websites that look almost like the real thing. Once there, they’ll prompt you for information. Don’t give it out. If you want to go to the actual IRS site, go to www.irs.gov.

• If someone calls you and says they’re from a government agency, hang up, and call the agency yourself. The FTC keeps a list of government agencies and contact numbers here.

If you filed a tax return this year, be patient — the check is in the mail, as they say. Wondering when you’ll get yours? Check here to find out.

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Filed under: Ripoffs and Scams

Ask any white collar criminal (past or present) and they will likely tell you that one of the main factors in getting away with their crimes (at least for a while) was the believability factor. Above all else, those in the position to be ripped off had to believe in the white collar criminal.

So it goes without saying that Charles Ray Fuller might not have much of a future in white collar crime. This 21-year-old went into a Texas bank a couple of weeks ago and tried to cash a fraudulent check. He was doing well. He walked into the bank. He smiled. He presented the check.

And the bank teller immediately doubted his honesty. The reason? A little detail such as the fact that the check was made out for $360 billion dollars. Yes, with a “b.” You see, banks don’t typically have people waltz in off the street and try to cash checks for hundreds of billions of dollars. Sure enough, the check was made out to someone other than Mr. Fuller, and was not authorized by the holder of the checking account.

So Mr. Fuller failed White Collar Crime 101 by not being even a tiny bit close to believable. Even superior? At the time he was committing this tiny crime, he was (allegedly) carrying both a gun and marijuana. I think even the street crimes experts would be ashamed of him for this one.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Record-keeping, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

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