A Change of Guard

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Friday 18 March 2011

[Stockton's] Scammers target elderly, disabled Cambodians

As many as 1,000 feared victimized by door-to-door tax scheme

By Jennifer Torres
Record Staff Writer
March 18, 2011

STOCKTON - Advocates in the Cambodian community fear that hundreds of elderly and disabled residents have been taken in by scammers targeting Southeast Asian neighborhoods with fraudulent offers of tax-preparation services.

Officials with the Community Partnership for Families - which provides free, legitimate tax preparation and works closely with Southeast Asian residents - estimate that as many as 1,000 victims have given copies of their Social Security and identification cards, as well as hundreds of dollars each, to individuals going door-to-door offering to complete tax documents and promising to secure large refunds.

The agency first became concerned a month ago when clients began asking whether Community Partnership for Families would also help secure the nonexistent rebates, said Savong Lam, a director.

"It was a little bit challenging in the beginning," Lam said. "Then there were community members who said, 'I just got my taxes done,' and when we looked up their information, they were elderly and were only receiving disability; they didn't need to file. It just didn't add up. When they said, 'They're asking me to pay them $200 up front,' we thought, 'We really, really need to look into this.' "

After someone turned in a document the scammers had distributed, Community Partnership for Families submitted it to the Internal Revenue Service and were told it did indeed represent a fraud, Lam said.

A report has been made to the Stockton Police Department, which Lam said has provided information on what people should do if their Social Security numbers have been stolen.

From three to five families per day continue to report that they have fallen victim to the scam, she said.

"They're going to any neighborhood that is highly concentrated with Cambodian families," Lam said. And, she said, the scammers seem to be targeting elderly and disabled residents in particular.

In response to the scam, the Community Partnership for Families has helped organize an educational meeting from 1-3 p.m. today at the Park Village Apartments complex, 3830 N. Alvarado Ave.

Representatives from the IRS will be there to provide information. The meeting is open to the public.

Contact reporter Jennifer Torres at (209) 546-8252 or jtorres@recordnet.com. Visit her blog at recordnet.com/parentingblog.

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