Allegheny County leaders working to protect seniors from fraud scams during tax season

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Tax season is also fraud season. According to the Allegheny County District Attorney’s “Fraud Squad,” there are more incidents of scammers pretending to be from the IRS than any type of scam in the region.

These scams usually target the elderly. Officials with the District Attorney’s office tell Channel 11 that the county’s high elderly population makes the region a perfect target.

“It’s like the wild west out there,” Cyndie Carioli said. She is a senior justice advocate with the office. Her job is to investigate and help prevent scams, primarily against senior citizens.

“I will say, I had three cases last week alone. Two of them were over 80,” she said. “Letters they got from the IRS looked very officials and it said a tax return has been filed in your name and social security number.”

Those letters urged recipients to call a phone number. One woman did and gave away personal information.

It can be hard to spot a fake letter, but here are some tips from the Fraud Squad:

• The name on the letter isn’t exactly the same as yours
• The recipients social security number isn’t listed anywhere in the letter
• You are not required to or haven’t filed a return in years

Scammers also use the phone. Carioli says it’s best to program important numbers in your phone. If it’s not one of those numbers calling, don’t answer.

“Don’t answer. Let it go to voicemail,” she said. “Don’t trust your caller ID. The spoofing is bad. That number you’re seeing there may be from another country even though it says ‘412.’”

It’s important to note the IRS will not call you.

If you or someone you know might be a victim of an IRS scam, you can call the direct numbers for the county’s senior justice advocates.

Cyndie Carioli 412-983-0729

Joe Giuffre 412-427-3770

Dick Skrinjar 412-512-3491

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