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ARTICLE · 22 SEPTEMBER 2015

IRS Tax Scam – Fake Form W-8BEN

Fuller Landau
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Form W-8BEN (for individuals) and W-8BEN-E (for business entities) is the "Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding."

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Frank Casciaro
Frank Casciaro
Holly Haber
Holly Haber
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Form W-8BEN (for individuals) and W-8BEN-E (for business entities) is the "Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding." These forms are used by U.S. payers to determine if U.S. tax withholding is required on their payments made to non-U.S. recipients. There has been an increase in fraudulent activity regarding these forms, where fake forms have been issued to unsuspecting recipients.

These fake forms require additional information such as:

  • mother's maiden name,
  • passport number,
  • date of birth,
  • PIN numbers and passcodes,
  • bank account information.

The official IRS Form W-8BEN and W8-BEN-E do not require this information. Enclosed are the links to the official forms from the IRS website:

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