Action: Be on the lookout for this scam

The Internal Revenue Service is warning taxpayers of a scam that has turned up in a number of states from New York to California, Washington to Georgia. The scam now appears to be heading to Florida.

This fraudulent scheme uses phony bank correspondence and IRS forms to try to trick taxpayers into disclosing their personal and banking data. This information is then used to steal the person's identity and drain their bank accounts.

If you get a letter claiming to be from your bank, stating that is is updating its records to exempt you from reporting interest or having tax without on interest paid, beware. The letter from the "bank" comes with a phony IRS form that seeks detailed personal and financial data.

Recipients are urged to fax the completed form to a specific number within seven days or lose the reporting and withholding exemption, resulting in 31 percent of the account's interest being withheld.

One of the phony forms, labeled "W-9095, Application Form for Certificate Status/Ownership for Withholding Tax," requests the kind of personal information that is frequently used to prove identity, such as mother's maiden name, passport number, etc. It also asks for bank account numbers, passwords and PIN numbers used to gain access to the accounts.

Another of the phony forms, W-8BEN, mimics the legitimate W-8BEN form that is used by banks to ensure that their non-U.S. customers meet the criteria to remain exempt from tax reporting requirements. The form used by the scam artists requests much the same personal information as the W-9095. A third fictitious form is labeled "W-8888," and asks for information similar to that of the other two.

If you're unsure whether a letter is really from your bank or not, call and find out. Keep in mind that, legally, banks must report interest to the IRS and taxpayers must include it as income. Statements to the contrary should raise a red flag. To find out whether a purported "IRS" form is legitimate or not, compare it to the "real" ones on the IRS's Web site at www.irs.gov.

If you receive a fraudulent letter and form, immediately report it to both your financial institution and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Call the latter's toll-free fraud hotline at 1-800-366-4484, fax a complaint to (202) 927-7018, or write to: TIGTA Hotline, P.O. Box 589, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044-0589. Information can also be found on TIGTA's Web site: www.ustreas.gov/tigta.

Change in itinerary

On Nov. 8, my wife and I purchased Christmas tours through Seaport Tours and Travel to Biloxi, Miss. We were given a brochure featuring the itinerary, which included three breakfasts and two dinners at the Beau Rivage Hotel for each of us.

On Dec. 23, as we were boarding the bus, the tour escort passed our a revised itinerary, which included two breakfasts and one dinner at the hotel. A third breakfast was given at another casino, but the second dinner at another hotel cost me $27.80, which Seaport refused to refund from the original cost of the tour.

Your assistance in recovering the cost of the second dinner, which was included in the agreement at the time of purchasing the tour, is appreciated. Any recovery will be donated to the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Gaspar Camardo

Response: Wei Wei Ritzhaupt, owner of Seaport Tours & Travel in Bayonet Point, said the dinners were offered by the casino, which reserves the right to cancel them. To make up for the canceled dinner, the casino gave everyone $5, as did Seaport Tours & Travel. In other words, $20 of your $27.80 dinner was covered. In addition, Ritzhaupt said she sent you a $20 gift certificate in January, which you returned.

No one else complained, and given the low cost of the trip, $219 for four days and three nights over the Christmas holiday, she said she does not feel she owes you the balance of the meal.

Wrong hospital was paid

You can see from the attached bill that my brief stay at Bayfront Medical Center more than a year ago has not been paid. On June 10, 2001, my UnitedHealthcare HMO mistakenly sent a check for $2,288.73 to the wrong hospital. I called Bayfront on Oct. 31, and asked it to resubmit the bill to the HMO claims department. The problem has still not been corrected.

It seems a shame for the HMO to punish Bayfront for the HMO's mistake. Any help you can give will be appreciated. Gerald Mahnken

Response: Pat Reed, marketing manager for UnitedHealthcare, said your information helped the company identify the confusion in the payment process. The hospital that received the payment in error has been contacted regarding the misdirected payment and a new check for the full amount will be paid to Bayfront. She apologized for the inconvenience this caused you.

-- Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, or call your Action number, (727) 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

Requests will be accepted only by mail or voice mail; calls cannot be returned. We will not be responsible for personal documents, so please send only photocopies. If complaint concerns merchandise ordered by mail, we need copies of both sides of canceled check.

We may require additional information or prefer to reply by mail; therefore, readers must provide a full mailing address, including ZIP code. Names of letter writers will not be omitted except in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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