Sniffing out Scams

Whether you’re a business owner or just an individual tax filer, scams abound that try to use the weight of the IRS, the fear of the taxpayer, and complicated nature of the tax code to obtain information and/or money from you. Quite simply, the IRS does not initiate taxpayer communications through e-mail. If you receive a message claiming to be from the IRS or EFTPS, do not reply to the sender, access links on the site, or submit any information to them. The next step you should take is to report this e-mail scam or bogus IRS website by forwarding the information to the IRS at the following address: phishing@irs.gov.

One scam in particular has been prevalent over the last number of weeks. The IRS has now issued a formal warning regarding a scam that targets Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) users. The scheme uses an e-mail claiming that the user’s tax payment was rejected and directs the user to a website for additional information. This website contains malware that will attempt to infect the user’s computer. Our Firm received such an email, but if you remember that the IRS does not communicate via email, you can always sniff out the scam and protect yourself and your business from any breaches in security or financial loss.

info@mcarthurco.com
704.544.8429

How Low Will They Go?

Mortgage rates are dropping and remain at all time lows. Many folks have already taken advantage of this historic opportunity and locked in their rates and completed their refinancing. If you have not, then perhaps now is a good time to assess whether this opportunity is right for you. Many banks will roll the closing fees into your loan, leaving only application and appraisal fees for you to pay. Your bank should be able to guide you through this process and help you analyze whether the decision to refinance makes sense to you.

There are some factors you should consider:

• What will be my monthly savings?
• What are the closing costs involved and how many months will it take me to recover?
• How long do I plan on living here?

These are some pretty basic questions, but important to ask before making the decision to refinance.

There might be some of you out there thinking you can’t qualify due to being “upside down” in your mortgage, meaning you owe more than your home is worth or would appraise for due to the housing downturn. You might be surprised to find that you just might be eligible for a special program call the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). For detailed information, please visit www.makinghomeaffordable.gov. The general criteria are as follows:

• You own a one unit to four unit home that is your primary residence
• Your mortgage is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
• You are current on your mortgage payments and have not been more than 30 days late making a payment within the past 12 months
• You have a first mortgage not exceeding 125% of the current market value of your home
• You have income sufficient to support the new mortgage payments
• You can improve the long-term affordability or stability of your loan with the refinance

In addition to the above website, if you’re interested in determining your eligibility for the above program, you can call the Homeowner’s HOPE hotline at 1-888-995-4673.

What’s your mortgage rate? Financing your home is one the biggest costs in our respective lives, so let’s be vigilant about saving where we can.

info@mcarthurco.com
704.544.8429