Tax Refund Loans attract fraudsters

There are a lot of people trying to scam tax preparers and the government.

Part of the problem is that W-2 forms are easily purchased at just about any Office Supply store and forged.

KGO, San Francisco (Alan Wong) reports:

The latest trend in tax fraud has made its way to the Bay Area and it could be costing the federal government millions.

People are being enticed to cheat Uncle Sam and then split the take.

The goal is to get these tax preparers to give them a loan (refund anticipation type) and walk out with about $6,000 - $8,000 in cash.

Fraudsters recruit low income/unemployed people to go in with the forged W-2s and get these loans.

KGO story, here.

Of course, those who get recruited will end up holding the bag if the IRS discovers this happening and takes the matter for prosecution. My guess is the people recruited will bear the brunt of any punishment because their information is being used, and the fraudsters (recruiters) will disappear in the mist.

These recruiters can be reported to the IRS, here. Of note, they mention that anyone reporting criminal activity might be entitled to a reward.

Here is a previous post, which covers all the scams the IRS looks for this time of year:

Don't be lured with promises of something too good to be true when filing your taxes

Identity theft is also becoming an issue when people try to file their taxes. A lot more than W-2s are being counterfeited these days.

News 25 (Peoria) is reporting how people are going to file their taxes and discovering someone else has already filed using their social security number.

News 25 story, here.

I wonder who will be liable for all the problems a taxpayers faces if their identity is stolen, and someone issues one of these handy dandy refund anticipation loans to a fraudster?

Unfortunately, my guess is that the identity theft victim will suffer the most.

Clearing up problems with the IRS can be a painful experience.

A new work-at-home business that scams everyone!

With the recent raids on Swift by ICE - a lot of people have wondered how much phony identification is out there. The most recent story about this is out of the Toronto area, where a large counterfeiting ring was discovered in a residential neighborhood.

The home based business was producing counterfeit identification, credit cards, government benefit cards and passports. In other words, they were making anything a criminal, illegal alien, or terrorist would desire - right out of a private home.

The City News (Toronto) is reporting:

The hunt began last May when Red Rocket officials put out a notice about phony Metropasses that were being distributed in the city. From there, they began to follow a long and winding road of deception that eventually led cops to a residence in Mississauga.

Armed with a search warrant, they entered the home last December 20th, and discovered illegal equipment - like computers, hot stamp pressers, special inks and more - that allowed suspects to turn out the illegal phonies by the thousands. They also found seemingly endless supplies of the finished products.

They were stunned to see scores of blank cards, OHIP cards, altered driver's licenses, even passport photos arrayed inside the home.

City News story with interesting video, here.

It's no wonder that both Canada and the United States (as well as many others) are having a huge problem with illegal immigration, border security and financial crimes.

Here are some similar stories about the same activity in the United States:

Is Bashing DHS for the Swift Raids Fair?

Mexican Organized Crime Ring is Mass Producing Fake Documents - and Considers Terrorism an American Problem

And the UK seems to have discovered the same problem:

International Identity Theft Ring tied to Bank

Of course, the people doing this don't honor borders, or jurisdictions - which means the proceeds from this problem can "easily travel" and victimize a lot of people.

Is Bashing DHS for the Swift Raids Fair?

Suad Leija (courtesy of YouTube)

Recently, there were a lot of people bashing DHS because of the raids at the Swift meat packing plants. There were allegations that only 65 of those "detained" were charged with crimes, and that everyone else was "hard working and innocent." Of note, the associated press just reported that this number is up to 220, and DHS is still investigating. Just being here "illegally" is considered an "administrative matter," and not a "crime."

AP update, here.

Could this mean that some of the "fake identification" is of such "high quality" that it's taking time to establish criminal activity? It also might point out that the rights of those being charged are being considered, carefully.

After all, we live in a country, where people have rights.

DHS has maintained that the raids were part of a much larger investigation into organized crime and the mass production of fake identification.

I've always taken the stance that I have nothing against hard working people trying to make a better life for themselves, but that we can no longer afford to let criminals control our borders.

And besides hard-working citizens having their identities stolen, and used for illegal purposes, we have to consider the threat to national security. In 9-11 - several of the terrorists involved - used forged documents to enter the country and obtain legitimate identification.

In July, I did a post about how organized the mass production of fake identification is. According to the stepdaughter of one of the ringleaders of the organized crime ring behind it - they consider terrorism an "American problem."

The stepdaughter (Suad Leija) is now making the "YouTube" arena, and you can hear what she has to say, here.

CNN also did an interesting story (available on YouTube), which shows how easy it is for "anyone" to get fraudulent identification, here.

Also included is a lot of evidence that some of this fake identification is so good, it easily passes muster at a border crossing, or airports. Of note - the video shows card reading technology used a liquor store - which catches a lot of these fakes and points out that it isn't in use at our airports, or borders?

Maybe this is something DHS could look into, further?

I also did a post - where a writer from Colorado - who is an identity theft victim wondered aloud - if she was one of the people arrested at Swift?

I wonder if any of the critics of the Swift raids has had their identity stolen, and if this became the case, they would be so quick to judge the actions of DHS?

Is Spending $550 Billion on RFID Going to Protect Us?

RFID is making the news again and some prominent politicians are saying we need take a hard look at it before we spend $550 billion (11 billion for each State) implementing it.

RFID is being implemented, or being recomended for implementation (worldwide) to verify a person's identity electronically when identification is presented. And there are people claiming it can already be compromised, or that it is just a matter of time before it will be.

EWeek wrote an interesting article about this about why two of our leaders don't feel RFID is safe, or a wise investment of taxpayer resources:

Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., said they take issue with the technological implications of the act.

Sen. Akaka said that if the proposed national database were to be breached it would "provide one-stop access to virtually all information necessary to commit identity theft," and pointed to a study by the National Governors Association estimating that states would have to come up with a total of about $11 billion each to implement the necessary infrastructure to verify information electronically. Akaka will chair the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee the group that has jurisdiction over the relationship between the federal and state governments in 2007.

The Emerging Applications and Technology Subcommittee, part of the Data Privacy and Integrity Committee that advises DHS, toned down its harsh criticisms of RFID technology used to identify individuals referring to the e-passport and PASScard ID card in a report released Dec. 13.

EWeek story, here.

And in another story a few thousand miles away from Washington, an Aussie hacker is claiming he can already hack Australian and British passports.

Sydney Morning Herald story, here.

Technology, including RFID is making people billions of dollars. Unfortunately, there is growing evidence that RFID isn't 100 percent secure. If RFID is easily hacked, there will be other (or maybe the same people) making a lot of money selling "security" to protect people from it.

Tracking inventory in Walmart's supply chain is one thing, but tracking humans is something that needs to be thought out, carefully. And $550 billion is a huge expenditure of the taxpayer's hard-earned money! We need to ensure this is a wise investment and that that individual privacy doesn't suffer because of it.

You can read Senator Akaka's press release on this subject, here.

And to go to Senator Sununu's page (couldn't find a release about RFID yet), click here.

For my previous posts on this subject, click here.

Mexican Organized Crime Ring is Mass Producing Fake Documents - and Considers Terrorism an American Problem

Not sure why this story doesn't seem to be making a "splash" in the media, but Sara Carter of the DailyBulletin.com is reporting that the stepdaughter of an organized human smuggling ring is assisting the authorities. The "ring" is responsible for the mass production of forged documents - which according to the step daughter (Saud Leija) - are sold to anyone, who coughs up the money to pay for them.

And this problem could go beyond illegal immigrants having the means to blend in our society, several of the 9-11 terrorists entered the country using forged documents.

If what she is saying is true, this organized crime ring could threaten all of us.

From the Daily Bulletin:

Suad Leija has many secrets.

The stepdaughter of Manuel Leija-Sanchez -- a key figure in what federal authorities believe is a document fraud organization run by the Castorena and Leija-Sanchez families -- has been in hiding and on the run from her own family.

To help U.S. authorities crack down on document fraud, human smuggling and a host of other international crimes, she has revealed her family business, identified relatives and shed light on a series of national security failures.

Fraudulent documents allegedly produced by the families include Social Security cards, driver's licenses, passports, hazardous materials licenses, utility bills and a variety of other forms of identification. To one degree or another, all can be used to board aircraft, transport dangerous materials, earn employment at secure government facilities, and otherwise help illegal immigrants blend into the fabric of American life.

And here is a scary thought about how their "business" might enable a terrorist to cross the border:

During the visit, Suad and her husband met with Natividad and her uncle, Juan Luis Echeveste, who is Natividad's bodyguard. She asked what would happen if the family's fake documents ever fell into the hands of a terrorist trying to enter the U.S.

The answer was frightening, Suad said.

My grandfather said, "Terrorism is an American problem, not a Mexican problem."

Organized crime groups are working together and Suad confirmed this when she said:

"I told (the congressmen) about Pedro and my stepfather, and how they worked together in the cartel,'' Suad said. "I told them about my family and their connections to the Russians, Polish people and the possible threat they pose to this country.''

Of note, many law enforcement experts speculate that the Eastern Europeans are the main players in "computer crimes," which has led to a record amount of "identities" being stolen. If this is the case, the relationship would seem to "mutually advantageous."

For the full story by the Daily Bulletin: Click Here

I written about this before and I'll say it again - I'm not against human beings trying to better themselves - but we can no longer allow criminals to control our borders! After reading this, it's no wonder we are facing an "identity theft crisis" when you consider where they must be getting the information to produce the fake documents.

Unfortunately, the "identity theft crisis" is minor in comparison to the potential of this activity giving terrorists the means to enter the country and murder Americans.

They are a "clear and present danger" to our citizens and should be dealt with, accordingly.