It promises more money if they're already receiving disability compensation.
An e-mail scam is going around, and it’s aimed at individuals associated with the military.
It purports to come from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and even has a domain name of .mil. The communication tells active and retired military personnel, veterans receiving disability compensation from the Department of Veterans Affairs and civilians who work with the Department of Defense that they could receive additional money from the IRS.
"We want to inform every Marylander of this scam," says Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot in a statement. "In these tough economic times, unscrupulous people prey on the vulnerabilities of others. While an unexpected windfall may sound mighty appealing, we urge Marylanders not to take the bait."
In the e-mail, the respondent is asked to send a lot personal information to a colonel in Florida. That includes income tax returns, VA award letters, 1099-R’s, Retiree Account Statements and DD 214’s "So this person could have all this personal information, your Social Security number, and we don’t what they would do with it," says Comptroller’s Office spokeswoman Caron Brace.
If you receive this type of e-mail purportedly from a government agency, Brace recommends you check it out to see if it’s legitimate. "Take a second when you receive information like this, and it’s good to call the perspective agency to verify the information," she says.
The Comptroller’s Office is joining with the IRS to get the word out to citizens. The IRS says beware of solicitations containing fictitious claims for refunds or rebates based on false statements of entitlements to tax credits. Also, be wary of e-mails from unfamiliar senders asking for personal information, and internet solicitations that direct individuals to toll-free numbers asking for Social Security numbers and other personal information.
