What's New
Tax Scams to Watch Out For
While tax scams are especially prevalent during
tax season, they can take place any time during
the year. As a result, it's in your best interest to
always be vigilant so you don't end up
becoming the victim of a fraudulent tax scheme.
Here are some of the more common scams to
watch out for.
Phishing
Phishing scams usually involve unsolicited
emails or fake websites that pose as legitimate
IRS sites to convince you to provide personal or
financial information. Once scam artists obtain
this information, they use it to commit identity or
financial theft.
It is important to remember that the IRS will
never initiate contact with you by email to
request personal or financial information. This
includes any type of electronic communication,
such as text messages and social media. If you
get an email claiming to be from the IRS, don't
respond or click any of the links; instead
forward it to phishing@irs.gov
Phone Scams
Beware of callers claiming that they're from the
IRS. They may be scam artists trying to steal
your money or identity. This type of scam
typically involves a call from someone claiming
you owe money to the IRS or that you're
entitled to a large refund. The calls may also
show up as coming from the IRS on your Caller
ID, be accompanied by fake emails that appear
to be from the IRS, or involve follow-up calls
from individuals saying they are from law
enforcement. Sometimes these callers may
threaten you with arrest, license revocation, or
even deportation.
If you think you might owe back taxes, contact
the IRS for assistance at irs.gov. If you don't
owe taxes and believe you have been the
target of a phone scam, you should contact the
Treasury Inspector General and the
Federal Trade Commission to report the
incident.
Tax Return Preparer Fraud
During tax season, some individuals and scam
artists pose as legitimate tax preparers, often
promising unreasonably large or inflated
refunds. They try to take advantage of
unsuspecting taxpayers by committing refund
fraud or identity theft. It is important to choose a
tax preparer carefully, since you are legally
responsible for what's on your return, even if it's
prepared by someone else.
A legitimate tax preparer will generally ask for
proof of your income and eligibility for credits
and deductions, sign the return as the preparer,
enter the Preparer Tax Identification Number,
and provide you with a copy of your return.
Fake Charities
Scam artists sometimes pose as a charitable
organization in order to solicit donations from
unsuspecting donors. Be wary of charities with
names that are similar to more familiar or
nationally known organizations, or that
suddenly appear after a national disaster or
tragedy. Before donating to a charity, make
sure that it is legitimate. There are tools at
www.irs.gov to assist you in checking out the status
of a charitable organization, or you can visit
charitynavigator.org to find more information
about a charity.
Tax-related Identity Theft
Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone
uses your Social Security number to claim a
fraudulent tax refund. You may not even realize
you've been the victim of identity theft until you
file your tax return and discover that a return
has already been filed using your Social
Security number. Or the IRS may send you a
letter indicating it has identified a suspicious
return using your Social Security number. If you
believe you have been the victim of tax-related
identity theft, you should contact the IRS
Identity Protection Specialized Unit at
800-908-4490 as soon as possible.
Stay One Step Ahead
The best way to avoid becoming the victim of a
tax scam is to stay one step ahead of the scam
artists. Consider taking the following
precautions to keep your personal and financial
information private:
- Maintain strong passwords
- Consider using two-step authentication
- Keep an eye out for emails containing links or asking for personal information
- Avoid scam websites
- Don't answer calls when you don't recognize the phone number
Finally, if you are ever unsure whether you are
the victim of a scam, remember to trust your
instincts. If something sounds questionable or
too good to be true, it probably is.
At Community Powered,
we’ll help you collect every possible deduction along
the way. Contact Vincent J. Dotti, Financial Advisor,
Royal Alliance Associates, Member FINRA/SIPC at (302) 392-2964.
Mobile Deposit Tips
We have received questions regarding how our Mobile Deposit program works. Here are a couple of helpful tips that should make Mobile Deposit easier to use.
- Mobile Deposit Visibility: Deposits don't immediately show up in a member's account. Community Powered's Remote Deposit system settles after 3:00 p.m. on business days, so your deposits aren't visible until the following business day. For example, if someone makes a deposit on Friday, at 3:05 p.m., they should not expect to see it in their account before 4:00 p.m. on Monday. With this in mind, do not destroy the check until that deposit appears in your account. If you are unsure if your deposit was accepted, please click the "Check Deposit History" button and look at the "Accepted" tab.
- Mobile Deposit Hold: All mobile deposits have a 3 business day hold, so your deposit will not be immediately available.
To learn more about Mobile Deposit , or any of our other electronic banking products such as, Online Banking, Mobile Banking, Bill Pay, or eStatements, please visit our "Let's Get Digital" pages.
Stay Protected
Please make sure all of your contact information is up to date in our system. One of the ways we authenticate suspicious account activity is by phone number. Log into OnlineBanking, call (302) 368-2396, or stop by any of our branches to safeguard your accounts. Contact us before traveling, to ensure uninterrupted service.
Equifax Data Breach
As you may know, millions of Americans had their personal information exposed by the recent Equifax® data breach. Equifax states they found no evidence of unauthorized activity on its core consumer credit reporting database, other information was lost. According to Equifax, the breach lasted from mid-May through July. The hackers accessed people’s names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver's license numbers. This is the sensitive information fraudsters need to commit identity theft.
Check with Equifax to find out if you've been impacted
Be assured that the Equifax breach does not affect Community Powered's security systems in any way, and that we continue to monitor member accounts 24/7.
Whether or not you were impacted, here are some things to keep in mind when it comes to actively protecting yourself in situations like this.
- Change usernames and passwords
- Check your credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion for free by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com. Accounts or activity that you don't recognize could indicate identity theft.
- Consider placing a credit freeze on your files. A credit freeze makes it harder for someone to open a new account in your name. Keep in mind that a credit freeze won't prevent a thief from making charges to your existing accounts.
- Monitor your existing credit card and bank accounts closely for charges you don't recognize.
It's important to keep in mind that any information put at risk by the Equifax breach is separate from your data at Community Powered, but we want to help you protect both.
We remain ever-vigilant in securing your credit union data and you can help by actively monitoring the activity on your accounts. If you observe suspicious activity, report it to us immediately.
Visit Identitytheft.gov/databreach to learn more about protecting yourself after a data breach.
Free 3 Month Trial Subscription to Sirius XM
Finance a pre-owned vehicle with our Auto Loan and you may qualify for a free three-month All Access Trial Subscription to SiriusXM! This is available on eligible factory-equipped pre-owned vehicles with no credit card necessary. Click here to learn more.
Newsletters
Each issue of our newsletters are available in PDF format. PDF is a universal file format that preserves the fonts, images, graphics, and layout of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. For more information on PDF format, please visit www.adobe.com. To download the latest version of Adobe Reader, click here.
- Power Source - Winter 2019
- Power Source - Fall 2018
- Power Source - Summer 2018
- Power Source - Spring 2018
- Power Source - Winter 2018