Area businesses need to be aware of this fraud. Essentially someone posing as a customer will come into a company trying to purchase something big. However, rather than directly paying for their item, they try to convince you to accept payment from the person’s future Social Security with a Social Security Trust Fund rather than at the time of the purchase.“To make the “deal” even more enticing, some have offered businesses 5% over the item’s purchase price if they agree to accept the 10-99A form as payment. IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!!”
There’s a scam that’s surfaced in Texarkana that we’re sure you’re gonna want to be aware of – especially if you’ve got a business.
Here’s essentially how the scheme works… A customer comes into your business and makes a selection (typically a big ticket item such as a car or some appliances). However, instead of paying the normal way, they hand you an IRS form 10-99A form that they’ve filled out saying that they have some huge amount of money – think millions of dollars – in a trust with the US Government. They try to convince you that you’ll be able to submit this form to the IRS and the government will pay you directly out of that person’s Social Security Trust Fund. Basically, they tell you that this form is just like a 3rd party check. To make the “deal” even more enticing, some have even been offering businesses 5% over the item’s purchase price if they will agree to accept the 10-99A form as payment. IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY!!
A local tax professional told us, “This is some crazy crap! It’s complete nonsense. These <10-99A> forms are used by banks or auto lenders when you fail to pay off a loan and then you wind up having to pick up the unpaid balance as income on your tax return. No unsuspecting business or individuals needs to get caught up in this”.
We know that they can be pretty slick and persuasive, but don’t take the bait. If you do fall for their lies, you’re gonna wind up holding the bag.
If you have someone trying to pull this on you, please call us immediately. We’d like to talk to them.