PROCTOR, Ark. — As the pandemic continues, crooks are upping their game trying to steal your personal information or your money.
When Local 24 viewer Stephen Marasco got a letter in the mail, he wanted to know if it could be trusted.
The letter promises tax-free life insurance for up to $35,000 dollars if you live in Arkansas. Plus, if you mail your information back within five days, the letter also includes the chance to get a Walmart gift card.
THE QUESTION
Should I send my information? Or is this a scam.
THE SOURCES
- Janet Robb, CEO/President of the Better Business Bureau Serving Arkansas
- The IRS website
- Comments on the BBB website
THE ANSWER
No, you should not send your personal information to anyone you don’t know. This could be a scam.
Janet Robb, President and CEO of the BBB Serving Arkansas pointed out several red flags, starting with the hook, tax-free insurance.
“This payout, this life death benefit of up to $35,000 dollars is tax-free. That's in bold letters. It's important,” said Rob.
“Who doesn't want tax free money? But the problem is most life insurance policy benefits are always tax free."
She's right.
The IRS website states, "Generally, life insurance proceeds you receive as a beneficiary due to the death of an insured person, aren't includable in gross income and you don't have to report them."
Next, according to Rob, the format of this letter was extremely misleading.
“When you look general format of the mailer, the F-2 and the 2021, it looks like a tax form,” said Rob. “So it’s really designed to make you think perhaps its coming from the IRS or some other official entity.”
This letter is not from the government. It even has “Not affiliated with or endorse by any government agency” written in small print at the bottom.
But we couldn’t verify what company this insurance policy is with. The back of the card is blank. No company name or logo anywhere.
Here's what we did find: the return address is to distribution processing center in Georgia.
This company is a third-party mail processor. It is not accredited with the BBB and has a C- rating. Many of the complaints online are about letters just like this.
Here's one response from the company:
"We work with legitimate insurance entities distributing their mail responses and maintaining their do not mail lists. The information mailed is an offer for legitimate products by one of our many clients."
So, is this letter legit? Without knowing what company it's from, it's hard to say. But should you send personal information to this third-party? That answer is no.
The BBB warns you should never send personal information to someone you don't know and can't research.
If you have something you want our exclusive verify team to investigate, send us an email to verify@localmemphis.com.
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