HENRY HERALD: Officials: college students are targets in emerging tax refund scam

Career College Central Summary:

The Internal Revenue Service is warning college students and other taxpayers to beware of an emerging federal tax refund scam tempting students to relinquish their personal identification and file tax returns claiming fraudulent refunds.
Misleading and bogus refund claims using the American Opportunity Education Tax Credit have been identified on college campuses throughout the southeast region.
These schemes carry a common theme of promising refunds to people who have little or no income, are normally being claimed as a dependent, and are not required to file a federal income tax return. Promoters falsely claim they can obtain a $1,000 college tax refund or nonexistent stimulus payment for their victims based on the American Opportunity Tax Credits, even in some cases, if the victim was not enrolled in or paying for college.
Typically, con artists falsely claim that refunds are available even if the victim never went to college, or attended decades ago. In many cases, scammers are targeting college students, seniors, people with very low incomes and members of church congregations with false promises of free money.
“Most of these scams involve promoters who prey upon students and people in need, building false hopes,” said IRS spokesman Mark Green. “When victims’ claims are rejected, their money, personal tax and banking account information, along with the promoters are long gone.

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