BERIGAN Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 A friend of mine was bitching about this...forwarded the email. First one looked like a phishing email. Just mentioned new laws, without a link, but they said to go to paypal and give the info. So, she ignored that email. Then she said she saw at the top of the page that paypal did indeed want her Tax I.D. info. Why do they want it?? Oh, if you make 20 K + a year or have 200 transactions a month, they need this if. Ok..., fine 1099 and all that...BUT, here's the thing. She doesn't come even remotely close to either number! So, she tries to tell paypal this fact, no number to call, have to deal with a virtual agent or whatever at first. Then a phone number was given and talked to someone that said she needed to email some other department...She did email, and gets a form letter back saying, sorry she has to comply, no reason given, just do it...well, she then called again, and someone dug a bit, and found someone with half a brain who restored her account(forgot to mention that fact, she couldn't get her money out of her account) Glad she was able to get her account restored without giving out her SS#, but clearly something is up with Paypal. Check out this story. So, anyone else having this issue with Paypal???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles65 Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 No nothing like that happend to me. I don't use Pay Pal much and am living in the Netherlands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.A.W. Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 No nothing like that happend to me. I don't use Pay Pal much and am living in the Netherlands. As far as I know the rules PayPal has to comply with in the EU are different from those in the United States. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Nessa Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 No problem here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Wood Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 It happened to me. And a number of people I know who do more ebay transactions than I do. The new world order.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted September 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 It happened to me. And a number of people I know who do more ebay transactions than I do. The new world order.... and after my friend thought it was all straightened out, she got the same email again! Dear -------, We're asking for your tax ID number due to new IRS rules. Your tax ID number is one of these: - Your Social Security number - Your Individual Tax Identification Number - Your Employer Identification Number We'll use your tax ID number to send tax Form 1099-K to you and the IRS when the payments you receive exceed both of these milestones in a calendar year: - $20,000 in gross payment volume for goods and services - 200 payments We want to help you continue to sell with PayPal and to avoid any interruption to your account. It's easy — here's how: 1. Log in to your PayPal account. 2. A message will appear asking you to update your information. 3. Click Provide Now. If you have multiple PayPal accounts, repeat these steps for each account. We appreciate your help in complying with these IRS rules. For more information, please see our FAQs on the IRS reporting requirements: www.paypal.com/irs Sincerely, PayPal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeBop Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 At first, I was guessing it was an anti-money laundering thing (currency transactions reporting, which is also a Treasury function). But IRS? Tax evasion potential here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValerieB Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 IT'S A SCAM!!!!! anything that asks for that information is!! #1 rule in detecting spam! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 PayPal tells you that they will NEVER ask for your social security number or any other banking info, they don't do it. As Valerie stated...IT'S A SCAM! Don't give out the information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeway Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 It could be phishing or a scam, but Berigan said his friend actually called PayPal. I do know that IRS has been cracking down on EBAY sellers and other online sellers/resellers of that type, for unreported income. There has been some reporting on this. I recall an article in which they actually caught one of their own employees for not reporting income from EBAY sales. I don't recall the threshold; it's hinted at in the material Berigan presented early in the thread, but they probably do take in duration of sales activity, number of sales, amounts, etc. Basically, IRS is looking for tax evasion. Bottom line: if you are making hundreds of sales a year, look out. Don't worry though. If Berigan's pal, Michele B gets in, she'll turn off the lights at IRS; that is, after she turns off the lights at EPA, Education, etc etc. (sorry Berigan, just had to throw that in). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefan Wood Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 (edited) It's not a scam. Paypal is really asking for SSNs relating to taxable income. When I received the email, I thought well this was a joke. But I went directly to Paypal (not through the email), and after logging in it was asking me for the info as well. This was a month ago. A buddy of mine, a heavy ebay seller, received a similar email over six months ago. Edited September 10, 2011 by Stefan Wood Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 Paypal says it won't ask you to click on a link to submit the info - those are scams. But if you log in to Paypal yourself and it is there, no scam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinuta Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 I'm in Tokyo and have had similar bullshit requests appropriately tailored to Japanese users. I recall being asked to confirm certain details, including last used credit card number. They are outright fraud and should not be given the time of day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 russian spam: dont do it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Free For All Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 russian spam: dont do it No sir! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonnymax Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 It is not a scam (although I expect phishers will eventually pick up on this and, posing as PayPal, try to get people's financial information). From PayPal's website: What is Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6050W? Under the new legislation, we’ll report to the IRS the total payment volume received by US account holders whose payments exceed both of these levels in a calendar year: $20,000 USD in gross payment volume from sales of goods or services in a single year 200 payments for goods or services in the same year The IRS changes apply to all payment providers, including PayPal and include all sales that occur on or after January 1, 2011, with the first reports going to the IRS in early 2012. Our goal is to help PayPal sellers understand and comply with the new requirements. Before your payment volume exceeds the reporting thresholds, you’ll be asked to add your tax ID number, such as a Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), to your existing account(s), if you don’t already have one on file. Undoubtedly, many people won't like this action (signed into law 2008), but obviously there's been a lot of undeclared income that rightfully should be taxed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejp626 Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 It is not a scam (although I expect phishers will eventually pick up on this and, posing as PayPal, try to get people's financial information). From PayPal's website: ... but obviously there's been a lot of undeclared income that rightfully should be taxed. While this may be the case for the major eBay users using Paypal, I do wonder about Amazon sellers. I've been reasonably successful selling CDs there, but only relative to the pittance you get from used CDs stores. In no more than 3 or 4 cases would I consider this activity to have generated any capital gains, as against dozens of transactions that were net losses, and I suspect if they start chasing around people essentially conducting garage sales on-line and then asking them to provide receipts for all these items will not prove very popular. Well, I am far below this $20,000 threshold, so I won't worry about it for the moment... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted September 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 Well, I popped up on their radar now! Same email, and the website has a banner near the top of the page telling me to give them my info...just checked, in 60 days, I have grossed a whopping $301. So about $150 a month. I would have to average about $1667 a month to get to the 20K per year mark. Needless to say, I am not selling 200 items a month either.... Stefan, did you give in and give your SS# to them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonnymax Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 ...In no more than 3 or 4 cases would I consider this activity to have generated any capital gains, as against dozens of transactions that were net losses,... I assume you mean "net income" rather than capital gains, since we're not talking about investments here. Anyone who does receive a 1099 is considered an independent contractor or single person small business. You can list expenditures related to the "business", and sometimes your net income could be $0 or less. One thing that hasn't been mentioned is that in addition to any income tax owed, the individual is also going to have to pay social security taxes. Of course, they can also reduce their taxable income by contributing to a SEP retirement account. Never too early to start preparing for eventual decrepitude! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alankin Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 If you earn income of more than $600 a year, the payer needs to generate a 1099 form to report the income to the IRS. For musicians, they should get 1099 from venues that paid more than that amount in one year and sidemen should get them from band leaders. I assume that Amazon will send them to Marketplace sellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John L Posted September 14, 2011 Report Share Posted September 14, 2011 All I have to say is BE CAREFUL. Somebody opened an account last year using my social security number (probably the person just made up a number and it turned out to be mine. My name or address were not used). Suddenly, Bank of America froze my bank accout. They wouldn't let me access my own money. The whole thing qualified as a case of identity theft. I spent months of huge effort and hassle straightening it all out. Even after I cleared my name and Bank of America finally released my money, they requested that I never bank with them again. Not that I had planned to... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted September 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) It is not a scam (although I expect phishers will eventually pick up on this and, posing as PayPal, try to get people's financial information). From PayPal's website: What is Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6050W? Under the new legislation, we’ll report to the IRS the total payment volume received by US account holders whose payments exceed both of these levels in a calendar year: $20,000 USD in gross payment volume from sales of goods or services in a single year 200 payments for goods or services in the same year The IRS changes apply to all payment providers, including PayPal and include all sales that occur on or after January 1, 2011, with the first reports going to the IRS in early 2012. Our goal is to help PayPal sellers understand and comply with the new requirements. Before your payment volume exceeds the reporting thresholds, you’ll be asked to add your tax ID number, such as a Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), to your existing account(s), if you don’t already have one on file. Undoubtedly, many people won't like this action (signed into law 2008), but obviously there's been a lot of undeclared income that rightfully should be taxed. Don't know why, but my eyes missed that part earlier...still, I wonder how legal it is...(Edit to add, EVERYONE will have to give their SS # then, right??? )I guess paypal's lawyers have checked it out....anyone having this issue with google payments? I'd sure like to switch over to them, but somehow it's legal for ebay to tell sellers they can't ask for any payments outside of paypal... Edited September 15, 2011 by BERIGAN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted September 15, 2011 Report Share Posted September 15, 2011 Its legal because no one is forcing you to use ebay. Of course it sucks that its just ebay getting money out of every aspect of the transaction .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERIGAN Posted September 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 the latest email I have gotten from them....I just LOVE the way they worded that one sentence! Very professional. They sure are understanding to the fact that there might be some confusion on this, or that folks might think it's spam...never occurs to them that they have been telling us for years that they would NEVER ask for our SS#, or that even if you are not close to making 20K mentioned as being the the number they will need to send your deposits to the IRS, they still need your Tax ID to keep on file... Dear --------, We emailed you a little while ago about IRS tax regulations that require us to collect your tax ID number. Your tax ID number is one of these: - Your Social Security number - Your Individual Tax Identification Number - Your Employer Identification Number What's the problem? We haven't heard from you yet about your tax ID number. PayPal needs your help to comply with these regulations and avoid interrupting your use of PayPal. What should I do now? It's easy to provide your tax ID number: 1. Log in to your PayPal account. 2. A message will appear asking you to update your information. 3. Click Provide Now. If you have multiple PayPal accounts, please repeat the steps above for each account. We appreciate your help in complying with these IRS rules. For more information, please see our FAQs on the IRS reporting requirements: www.paypal.com/irs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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