Saturday, February 28, 2015

New York State Grant Money Awarded to Fight Tax and Public Benefit Fraud.

New York State officials have announced that $14.7 million in grant money has been awarded to 28 district attorneys' offices to target tax and public benefits fraud.

The grants fund personnel, including forensic accountants, investigators and assistant district attorneys, who work to build cases for prosecution.

These funds are in addition to the $860,700 in Crimes Against Revenue Program (CARP) funds awarded to district attorneys' offices six months ago.

All taxes, such as sales, excise and income, are subject to these investigations.

For more on the state’s program, click here.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Beware of Fraudulent NYS Attorney General’s Office Debt Collection Notices

New York State officials have issued an alert based on complaints received from consumers who were recently contacted by scam artists posing as an attorney from the New York State Attorney General’s Office.

The consumers received a notice, written on doctored New York State Attorney General letterhead, that claimed to be a “District Court Final Warning” letter. The notice reportedly gives the impression that the Attorney General is investigating the consumer for the failure to pay a past due debt. The letters also threaten criminal action and arrest if the debts are not paid.

The fake notices are reportedly coming as either a paper letter or an email.

The state’s alert comes just one week after consumers reported receiving unsolicited phone calls from a someone posing as an attorney from the New York State Attorney General's Office.

More information, and tips on how to avoid government imposter debt collection scams can be found here.