Are you a victim of Social Security fraud?

Описание: PORT ARTHUR - By Megan Dillard - Someone contacts you and says you might qualify for federal stimulus money. In fact, they want to make it easy for you. So easy they'll file a tax return on your behalf and the money will to straight into your account. The only catch: you have to give them some personal information: your name, address, social security number, and banking information. Investigators believe the scheme has victimized enough people, including the elderly and disabled, to warrant a meeting tonight. Nearly four dozen people listened to representatives from the Port Arthur Police Department and the Better Business Bureau earlier this evening at the Bob Bowers Civic Center. Law enforcement explained the scam to the public and offered advice for those who believe they've been victimized. Major Raymond Clark with the Port Arthur Police Department says it's important to warn the public so others don't become victims. "We have individuals out there who are gaining their information and turning this information into the IRS, getting a check and dividing that money, giving some to them, and the suspects themselves receive the money." KFDM was at the meeting and spoke with a victim. The man says a scammer ripped him off and took advantage of his mother. Theodore Victor, Sr. hasn't filled out a tax return since 2002. The 61-year-old is disabled and lives on social security benefits. That's why when he heard that he may qualify for stimulus money from the government, he was willing to participate. "I called the lady to make an appointment." The woman asked Victor for his driver license, social security, and banking information. Victor gave her what she asked for but started to grow suspicious when she stopped answering phone calls. Two weeks later, he had a deposit in his bank account from the U.S. Treasury. "The lady says it was stimulus money. Come to find out everything she told me was a lie." A lie investigators say could jeopardize victor's identity or social security benefits. "They have to investigate that I didn't do this." Victor says the IRS explained his return was divided into two accounts. He received more than 00. Someone else got nearly 00. Now, one form at a time, Victor counts out the paperwork he's had to submit to try to right the wrong. "You have to fill all these forms out, and also, I did fill out a police report." He's also doing the paperwork for his mother and two other people he knows that fell victim to the scam. A sense of security stolen