Avoiding the usual scams: Tax-related scams this year have risen to a level I’ve not experienced before in more than 4 decades of practice. Tax preparers are among the most targeted group. The defenses tend to require low tech personal attention. EMAIL – We observe that most (I read 85%) of scams begin with email. […]
“What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander” – Elie Wiesel I personally saw the cruelty, greed and crimes of Donald Trump ruin families who were my neighbors in the Atlantic City area more than two decades ago. As president of a nearby chapter of […]
I’ve received and blocked so many unwanted robo calls from TripAdvisor and others recently that it seems unrealistic that they could possibly be calling from so many different numbers. I’ve likely blocked close to 50 numbers based on calls in the past two months; almost one per day. I decided that beginning today I will […]
I’ve become more concerned with the ‘dumbing down’ of sectors of the accounting industry. Hardly a day goes by when I’m not solicited with advertisements about how to become a millionaire running an accounting practice without any accounting skills. Likewise my online group for tax advisers and planners is swamped with requests from people who […]
Never in our lifetime has the will of the people mattered less than this month. We know that over 75% of Americans oppose the tax bill being pushed by a small group of Republican oligarchs. Today the federal government repealed net neutrality rules that, as far as we can tell, is an action opposed by […]
It seems that the number of ways consumers face financial risk online is expanding rapidly. No matter what we measures we take to protect ourselves, it seems that professional online scams are one step ahead of us. An online conversation tonight with a business friend triggered my to recall two recent suspected consumer frauds. I say […]
A client sent me a scammy advertisement that read, in part: URGENT for Anyone Who Bought ANYTHING in 2016: Congress Passes $42.4 BILLION “Consumer Rebate Program”! 119 Million Taxpaying Americans Can Now Get a Cash Rebate on Virtually EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE Made in 2016… But You Must Act Between January 1 and April 17 to […]
I am responding to a telephone caller who presumed that my trademarked business name Freedom Benefits was associated with a credit card program apparently offered by Chase Bank. Over the years I’ve received a number of calls from consumers and even one from the FBI years ago investigating consumer reports of someone using the name in an […]
Follow these three simple rules to maximize the effectiveness of your propaganda message: Craft a message that people want to hear. This is most important; far more important than telling the truth. Make it about growth and prosperity, patriotism and glory. Never succumb to the less optimistic assessment of the better educated or scientific community. Stick to […]
Apparently a new scam aimed at taxpayers involves and email with a fake IRS notice called a CP2000. This is the notice that the IRS sends in the mail when your tax return filed does not match the amounts received from other sources. The way to avoid this scam is simple: do not open email […]