Identity Theft Is Real

By Jim Newell

You have completed and filed your tax return in a timely manner. Then your tax preparer calls with the news that the Internal Revenue Service has rejected your return because someone has already filed a return using your name and Social Security Number. Or maybe the Internal Revenue Service has contacted you directly asking you about unreported income, and you haven’t even filed your return yet. (more…)

By Steve Weisman

Scams are an old story that’s written anew every day. Some scams have been around for at least a century, such as the Spanish prisoner scam, which has evolved into the Nigerian letter scam of today. Many newer scams utilize the latest in technological advancements to make it ever easier to part fools from their money. And not just fools-careful, intelligent people also fall prey to the many scams that pervade our everyday life. Scam artists, the rare criminals justifiably referred to as “artists,” often have a knowledge of psychology that would make Sigmund Freud proud. These criminals know just which buttons to push to appeal to our fears, friendships, charitable instincts, compassion, optimism, greed, and desire for quick-and-easy solutions to life’s problems. (more…)