topic Re: Fake turbotax web site in Get your taxes done using TurboTax

Fake turbotax web site

silviu22 — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 22:36:07 GMT

I got conned on Thanksgiving day (11/29/2019) into buying TurboTax Premier for $39.99 from a fake web site [URL removed]. They looked like the real website and was listed prominently on Google's list of TurboTax vendors that I fell for it.

It turns out the web site was registered 13 days ago (on Nov 16, 2019). I feel like such a fool. I tried to report this web site using Intuit's report piracy software but I got some kind of error, so I don't know if my report went through. Can someone shut these guys down?

Re: Fake turbotax web site

Carl — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 16:47:32 GMT

I've flagged the forum moderators on this. Thanks.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

Anonymous — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 17:46:56 GMT

it's almost impossible to shut fake web sites down. many are not even located in the US Have you alerted your credit card company? you could also become a victim of identity theft? what to do

Credit Agencies
1) Report the identity theft to the fraud department of one of the following reporting agencies as soon as possible. They must notify the other two agencies.
• Equifax: equifax.com
• Experian: experian.com
• TransUnion: transunion.com
2) Request a copy of your credit report and request that only the last
four digits of your Social Security number be placed on the report.
3) Close accounts that you think have been compromised or opened
fraudulently.
4) Inform the credit bureaus and the credit issuers (in writing) of any
fraudulent accounts and incorrect information.
5) Obtain replacement credit cards with new, secure account numbers
and destroy any old cards.
6) Notify those who have received your credit report in the last six
months to alert them to any disputed, fraudulent or incorrect information.
7) Confirm that an extended fraud alert (seven years) is placed on your
credit report.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
1) Report the crime to the FTC to establish an Identity Theft Affidavit.
Identity Theft Victim’s Complaint and Affidavit.

Local Police
1)Report the crime to your local police or sheriff’s department. Make
sure to prompt as much documented evidence as possible.
2)Verify that the report lists the fraudulent accounts and keep a copy
of the report.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
1) Contact the IRS to report the theft. This will alert them to any claim
for refund or other activity on your account. File IRS Form 14039,
Identify Theft Affidavit.

State Tax Agency
1) Contact your state tax agency to report the theft. Some agencies
may require a police report and/or the IRS affidavit.

Other Agencies and Organizations
1) U.S. mail fraud: Contact your local postal inspector.
• Online: postalinspectors.uspis.gov
• Phone: 800.275.8777
2) Social Security number misuse — non-IRS issues:
-Check your earnings record to make sure no one is using your SSN
to obtain work. Call your local Social Security Administration (SSA)
office if something looks inaccurate.
-Contact the SSA Inspector General to report Social Security benefit
fraud, employment fraud, or welfare fraud.
• Online reporting resources:
- socialsecurity.gov/oig
- Fraud Reporting Form
• SSA fraud hotline: 800.269.0271

Re: Fake turbotax web site

Critter — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 22:32:22 GMT

It is like a game of "Whack A Mole" ... you shut down one fake site & 2 others pop up in their place. The sites usually are only up for a few days at best then morph into another one.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

njstruck — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 18:17:15 GMT

I also fell for it but stopped prior to downloading once got a strange name back acknowledging my order. Still trying to get refund from Paypal. Those hackers are good ... site look plus PLUS showing up first in the search list. Back to Costco or Turbotax.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

silviu22 — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 19:24:37 GMT

I will definitely keep an eye on my credit report. The "eTurboTax" seller still figures prominently in Google's list for TurboTax (it's first!)

I used PayPal, so they didn't get my credit card information. I filed a dispute with PayPal. I am interested in how this will end.

I ended up buying from walmart's web site. It looks like you need to use a domain checker like http://whois.domaintools.com/ before buying from a web site. If it's several days old, don't bother

Pretty annoyed at myself for falling for this

Re: Fake turbotax web site

njstruck — Fri, 29 Nov 2019 22:30:50 GMT

I also filed a dispute with Paypal but finally got through to a human being to explain. Online system couldn't handle "yes I authorized" but NO is was not a valid seller .. which of coure I didn't know until I saw the email from what looked like a vietnamese name ... but in hindsite .. probably system generated. Good luck.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

silviu22 — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 22:23:28 GMT

I did get through to PayPal and did speak to a person. They still denied my claim to cancel the transaction.

They said "I received the product I bought so your claim is denied". However, I believe the serial number I received is invalid. How can I check whether the serial number is valid? I tried to call TurboTax, but the wait time is over 1 hour...

Re: Fake turbotax web site

silviu22 — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 22:27:23 GMT

njstruck: my seller was a vietnamese name "Nguyen Ba Thu". We might have ran into the same person. And PayPal seems unwilling to help, so I'll try to deny the charge through the credit card company

Re: Fake turbotax web site

silviu22 — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 23:19:32 GMT

The credit card company accepted my dispute and will give me a refund. However, that doesn't make me entirely happy because I suspect the thieves get to keep their money and my credit card company is swallowing the loss.

Today I noticed two more fraudulent web sites showing up in google's list of online Turbotax resellers

This is depressing. The thieves are winning

Re: Fake turbotax web site

Critter — Mon, 02 Dec 2019 23:16:49 GMT

Not unusual at this time of the year ... the local news was saying to be wary of fake websites popping up at this time of the year to fleece the unwitting ... best you can do is use a CC so you have an avenue to dispute these charges ... if you use a debit card you are sunk. Also using Paypal to be the middleman between your CC and the seller is also a good idea for the protection it provides.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 01:09:54 GMT

i would suggest Paypal over a CC because once a scammer has a CC number, they can rack up a fantastic amount of charges. then, if the CC holder, doesn't review their statement in timely, then their ability to dispute fraudulent charges may be lost.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

njstruck — Tue, 03 Dec 2019 04:07:59 GMT

Good idea to check with CC. The Paypal rep I talked to said give him 10 days and will be resolved (reversed). Not too hopeful considering all the status update emails I get from Paypal. I agree ... CC gets dumped with the refund and the thieves win. Glad you got your $$ back. At this point the time spent on this far exceeds the $29.99 "may" get back. You lost $10 more. I can also wait out the Costco sale nearer the 4/15 deadline.

Onward.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

DebFour — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 21:13:05 GMT

Almost fell for it as well, then actually read the terms and conditions and got spooked...back to Amazon/Costco/direct from Intuit

Re: Fake turbotax web site

aj04 — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 22:46:30 GMT

I googled it clicked the first one & purchased it. Then i realized i was on “ TurboTaxshopping.net & not on the intuit website.... so I haven’t opened the “app” to my Mac yet bc it gave me a “this app was from the Internet and could be harmful” warning ... so i looked at my purchase and my sellers name came up “NGUYEN BA THU” 😳

Re: Fake turbotax web site

MonicaM — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 23:17:54 GMT

@aj04

So sorry this happened to you. This is not an authorized TurboTax reseller. You can try disputing the credit card transaction, or filing a dispute on the website if that is an option. We can make a note of the domain, however, we don't have the authority to shut it down.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

Toadlips72 — Sun, 05 Jan 2020 16:49:24 GMT

Just a followup on turbotaxshopping.net, which scammed me, as well. It's been down for "scheduled maintenance" for the last couple of weeks. I am guessing it will never recover from this "scheduled maintenance".

I had absolutely ZERO luck disputing the charge with PayPal. My case was initially denied with a generic form letter saying that their records indicated I had downloaded the file and that was the end of it. I contacted support by phone and explained the situation. I did this 2 more times, waiting on hold, waiting for callbacks, etc.. Each time, the person on the phone seemed to understand the situation and the case was re-opened, only to be denied by the same form letter by the dispute department. I sent them additional information which verified that the site was not legitimate, and apparently they didn't read it because they responded with the same form letter. Finally, I canceled my PayPal account. They are absolutely worthless.

I had to dispute the transaction with my credit card company, who issued me an immediate credit and found in my favor a week or two later.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

dwight7751 — Sun, 02 Feb 2020 15:02:20 GMT

I too was taken on Dec 1st. Paypal and the credit card (discover) investigated but were no help.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

IHumble — Sun, 16 Feb 2020 02:11:49 GMT

We purchased TurboTax Business 2019 from turbotaxshopping.net and the merchant is NGUYEN BA THU.

The license code was good in December 2019. Now in February 2020 when we turned on Turbotax the activation screen showed up, we typed in our license code and the error message is [All available activations for that code have been used. Error code: 603].

We called Trubotax and the technician said it is fraudulent.

Re: Fake turbotax web site

mpendlum — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 22:50:02 GMT

I fell for a similar one back in February. softstoredeal.com In the process of disputing it with Paypal, so we'll see what happens. The same phone number on that site also shows up on yourtaxwebsite.com, happystoreusa.com, and gooddealsusa.com... so it's fairly safe to say that these are B.S. as well.