Oklahomans feeling the effects of the current recession are being aggressively targeted with a variety of scams these days. One of the newest is the “Economic Stimulus” scam.
Virtually anytime you surf the Web, you are bombarded with ads that promise large grants or checks out of the government’s stimulus plan.
“In 30 days I was able to get a $12,000 check from the US Govt which I never have to pay back,” reads one such banner ad, which pops up when you search the Web for “economic stimulus.”
When you click on such ads, you are redirected to blogs purportedly written by average Americans who succeeded in getting checks from the government and now want to show you how to do the same. They might ask you to buy a software program that “helps” you apply for a grant, sign you up for a monthly subscription without your consent or even ask for sensitive personal identity details.
The reality is that the economic stimulus bill recently passed by Congress — known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 — doesn’t include provisions for grants or payments directly to consumers. Rather, consumers should expect a reduction in the amount of taxes withheld from their paychecks every month. Anyway, when the U.S. government wants to give money back to taxpayers, it does so through the Internal Revenue Service, and the IRS never contacts people through banner ads.
“We don’t contact people by e-mail or phone with some offer of a refund,” IRS spokesman Anthony Burke says. “To get a refund, taxpayers need to file a tax return.”
Source: MSN Money.
