Published: April 02, 2008 11:36 am         

Couple targeted by scam

Caller uses tax rebate to get bank information

Albert and Tina Sawyers were the victims of a scam carried out by a person who claimed to be from the Internal Revenue Service Friday, and want to warn others of the danger.

Around 9:30 a.m. Albert Sawyers received a phone call from a man saying Sawyers had been selected to receive his tax rebate check early.

The tax rebate check is part of the $150 million economic stimulus package approved in January by Congress to boost the economy. The checks are to be mailed in May.

Sawyers was glad to receive the call.

“I thought it was good, because I was sort of needing the money,” he said.

The man, who claimed his name was Brad Jones, said Sawyers would receive three payments of $500, beginning March 30. To confirm his claim, Jones revealed he had copious amounts of personal information about Sawyers, including his Social Security number, birth date, address, phone number, how long he’d been paying taxes and how much he was owed by the IRS.

All he needed was Sawyers’ bank account information, including checking account number and routing number.

Sawyers gave him the information, and Jones gave him a confirmation number and a phone number to call if he had any questions.

But Sawyers was immediately suspicious.

“As soon as we got off the phone, we called the tax place,” Tina Sawyers said.

Kelly Williams, of J & J Accounting and Tax Service No. 2, recognized the Sawyers had been scammed.

“They would never really call,” she said. “That’s not something the IRS would do.”

IRS media relations specialist Jodie Reynolds agreed.

“The IRS would never initially make contact by e-mail and they’re definitely not going to call,” she said. “That’s why we have you file a return.”

If contact is needed, it’s initially in writing.

“The first thing we do is always send letters,” Reynolds said. “There is always a letter first.”

However, Reynolds said the scam involving the tax rebate checks is not rare.

“Unfortunately, scammers jumped on this before it was even signed into law,” she said. “We’re had several instances reported to us.”

Reynolds said the IRS is aware of 300 different types of cons where scammers pretend to be with the IRS. The scam has become so common, the IRS released a statement to warn taxpayers.

“The phone call is a scam,” it reads. “No legislation has yet been enacted that would allow the IRS to provide advance payments to taxpayers or that determines the details of those payments.”

After speaking with Williams, the Sawyers called the number provided to them by Jones. They reached Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, who knew nothing of the con.

“At this point, this is the only situation that we’ve heard of,” said Empire Spokeswoman Lisa Greiner. “We will investigate right away. If we do find that there is any potential for our members to be impacted moving forward, we will definitely make sure they are notified.”

The Sawyers were forced to close their bank account. When they did so, Jones called, asking Sawyers to verify their bank account information again. Using his cell phone, Albert Sawyers recorded Jones making the request.

Jones is heard saying, “Your number has been canceled by the government.”

The Sawyers have contacted the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office for help. Sheriff’s officials intend to look into the matter.

Tina Sawyers was disgusted with the whole incident.

“It’s getting crazy,” she said. “You can’t trust anybody. I just don’t want it to happen to somebody else.”



Staff writer Tara Kaprowy can be reached by e-mail at tkaprowy@sentinel-echo.com.