UPDATE: Let's talk about what a GIANT idiot I am.

theartistformerlyknownas

beachyone15 said:

ABSOLUTELY close your account now.

And the whole thing about having a Master's degree means crap to me. I don't have one but my H does. H thought it was good to claim 8 dependents on his taxes (um, hello, wtf?). So now we owe the government over $1,000. So much for that big refund he was banking on. *eyeroll*...dumbass.

Wait wut??  ETA:

novella1186

beachyone15 said:

ABSOLUTELY close your account now.

And the whole thing about having a Master's degree means crap to me. I don't have one but my H does. H thought it was good to claim 8 dependents on his taxes (um, hello, wtf?). So now we owe the government over $1,000. So much for that big refund he was banking on. *eyeroll*...dumbass.

Wait... does he actually have any dependents? Isn't that tax fraud? 

esstee33

theycallmelinz said:

beachyone15 said:

ABSOLUTELY close your account now.

And the whole thing about having a Master's degree means crap to me. I don't have one but my H does. H thought it was good to claim 8 dependents on his taxes (um, hello, wtf?). So now we owe the government over $1,000. So much for that big refund he was banking on. *eyeroll*...dumbass.

Yeah I marked that out a few minutes after I posted but left if it in there so people would see what the edit is for. I agree that having any amount of degrees does not bar you from making poor decisions.

lolo883 said:

theycallmelinz said:

Eh, I'm not really phased...maybe I'm an idiot with my personal info, but 

Based on that your OP, it seems like it was a real company that probably would have scammed you or ended up charging you additional fees or something for consolidating your debt, but not like open credit cards in your name or steal your identity. 

Also you freaked out like a stage-5 clinger on a Sunday. Did you realize expect them to answer you? I don't really blame the woman "M" for being short and to the point with you..but I'm glad you got it sorted and feel relived. 

Haha I know you're right, but no I didn't expect them to answer me on Sunday. I just wanted to reach an answering machine or something with the company name/info letting me know this company was legit after the email bounced back.

No, at this point you don't know that. You have every reason to assume these people are not legit. Do your due diligence to protect yourself... best case scenario, you did it for nothing, but better safe than sorry. It will cost you nothing to put these alerts up and re-set your autopayments. Taking this lightly could cost you EVERYTHING.

I meant she was right about me being a Stage 5 clinger, not that this company isn't going to completely screw me over. I'm headed to the bank in about 30 minutes to start closing things down.

This can go either way: No, you're not a Stage 5 clinger, because you're just making responsible choices to fix your mistakes, OR Yes, you're a Stage 5 clinger, and YOU SHOULD BE BEFORE THEY FUCK UP YOUR ENTIRE FINANCIAL LIFE. 

theartistformerlyknownas

novella1186 said:

beachyone15 said:

ABSOLUTELY close your account now.

And the whole thing about having a Master's degree means crap to me. I don't have one but my H does. H thought it was good to claim 8 dependents on his taxes (um, hello, wtf?). So now we owe the government over $1,000. So much for that big refund he was banking on. *eyeroll*...dumbass.

Wait... does he actually have any dependents? Isn't that tax fraud? 

You can say whatever you want on your W-4, that only determines how much they withhold. If you claim fewer deductions/dependents than you actually have, they'll withhold more and you'll get a bigger refund. Some people cook it to withhold less, so they can earn interest on their money longer, but the trick is KNOWING YOU'LL OWE COME TAX TIME and saving appropriately.

It's only fraud if you actually file incorrectly.

beachyone15

novella1186 said:

beachyone15 said:

ABSOLUTELY close your account now.

And the whole thing about having a Master's degree means crap to me. I don't have one but my H does. H thought it was good to claim 8 dependents on his taxes (um, hello, wtf?). So now we owe the government over $1,000. So much for that big refund he was banking on. *eyeroll*...dumbass.

Wait... does he actually have any dependents? Isn't that tax fraud? 

He had no idea what he was doing, and unfortunately I found out after we got married and I tried to file our taxes together. If I would have known before I would have made him change it. I'm just hoping we don't get audited now.

Maggie0829

beachyone15 said:

ABSOLUTELY close your account now.

And the whole thing about having a Master's degree means crap to me. I don't have one but my H does. H thought it was good to claim 8 dependents on his taxes (um, hello, wtf?). So now we owe the government over $1,000. So much for that big refund he was banking on. *eyeroll*...dumbass.

Wait... does he actually have any dependents? Isn't that tax fraud? 

 Your H has 8 dependents that fit under these definitions?

Qualifying Child

In addition to the qualifications above, to claim an exemption for your child, you must be able to answer "yes" to all of the following questions.

• Are they related to you? The child can be your son, daughter, stepchild, eligible foster child, brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, stepsister, adopted child or an offspring of any of them.
• Do they meet the age requirement? Your child must be under age 19 or, if a full-time student, under age 24. There is no age limit if your child is permanently and totally disabled.
• Do they live with you? Your child must live with you for more than half the year, but several exceptions apply.
• Do you financially support them? Your child may have a job, but that job cannot provide more than half of her support.
• Are you the only person claiming them? This requirement commonly applies to children of divorced parents. Here you must use the “tie breaker rules,” which are found in IRS Publication 501. These rules establish income, parentage and residency requirements for claiming a child.

Qualifying Relative

Many people provide support to their aging parents. But just because you mail your 78-year-old mother a check every once in a while doesn’t mean you can claim her as a dependent. Here is a checklist for determining whether your mom (or other relative) qualifies.

• Do they live with you? Your relative must live at your residence all year or be on the list of “relatives who do not live with you” in Publication 501. About 30 types of relatives are on this list.
• Do they make less than $3,950? Your relative cannot have a gross income of more than $3,950 and be claimed by you as a dependent. 
• Do you financially support them? You must provide more than half of your relative’s total support each year. 
• Are you the only person claiming them? This means you can’t claim the same person twice, once as a qualifying relative and again as a qualifying child. It also means you can’t claim a relative—say a cousin—if someone else, such as his parents, also claim him.

lurkergirl

beachyone15 said:

novella1186 said:

beachyone15 said:

ABSOLUTELY close your account now.

And the whole thing about having a Master's degree means crap to me. I don't have one but my H does. H thought it was good to claim 8 dependents on his taxes (um, hello, wtf?). So now we owe the government over $1,000. So much for that big refund he was banking on. *eyeroll*...dumbass.

Wait... does he actually have any dependents? Isn't that tax fraud? 

He had no idea what he was doing, and unfortunately I found out after we got married and I tried to file our taxes together. If I would have known before I would have made him change it. I'm just hoping we don't get audited now.

Well good thing you never talked about it publicly, so nobody will ever know!

novella1186

lolo883 said:

novella1186 said:

beachyone15 said:

ABSOLUTELY close your account now.

And the whole thing about having a Master's degree means crap to me. I don't have one but my H does. H thought it was good to claim 8 dependents on his taxes (um, hello, wtf?). So now we owe the government over $1,000. So much for that big refund he was banking on. *eyeroll*...dumbass.

Wait... does he actually have any dependents? Isn't that tax fraud? 

You can say whatever you want on your W-4, that only determines how much they withhold. If you claim fewer deductions/dependents than you actually have, they'll withhold more and you'll get a bigger refund. Some people cook it to withhold less, so they can earn interest on their money longer, but the trick is KNOWING YOU'LL OWE COME TAX TIME and saving appropriately.

It's only fraud if you actually file incorrectly.

oooh ok gotcha. I clearly know a lot about taxes lol. 

MyNameIsNot

MagicInk said:

Eh, I'm not really phased...maybe I'm an idiot with my personal info, but 

Based on that your OP, it seems like it was a real company that probably would have scammed you or ended up charging you additional fees or something for consolidating your debt, but not like open credit cards in your name or steal your identity. 

Also you freaked out like a stage-5 clinger on a Sunday. Did you realize expect them to answer you? I don't really blame the woman "M" for being short and to the point with you..but I'm glad you got it sorted and feel relived. 

Hey! I got a cousin in Nigera who just came into some money. But he needs to transfer it to a US bank account...wanna help out? He'll give $1,000 if you let him wire the cash into your account!

Student loans are all handled by the US Department of Education. If you've defaulted on your loans they might (MIGHT) let you pay it all off at once for a slightly lower rate. Like one of my friends defaulted and owes about 16 grand, they told if she paid 13 grand all at once they'd consider the debt settled.

The US government is not gonna except 1/6th of what you owe to them. That just ain't gonna happen. Ever. 

Not necessarily. Unsubsidized and PLUS loans go through private banks. If you went through grad school or went to private school, you may have had to borrow more than what's available subsidized.  

VulgarGirl

MyNameIsNot said:

MagicInk said:

Eh, I'm not really phased...maybe I'm an idiot with my personal info, but 

Based on that your OP, it seems like it was a real company that probably would have scammed you or ended up charging you additional fees or something for consolidating your debt, but not like open credit cards in your name or steal your identity. 

Also you freaked out like a stage-5 clinger on a Sunday. Did you realize expect them to answer you? I don't really blame the woman "M" for being short and to the point with you..but I'm glad you got it sorted and feel relived. 

Hey! I got a cousin in Nigera who just came into some money. But he needs to transfer it to a US bank account...wanna help out? He'll give $1,000 if you let him wire the cash into your account!

Student loans are all handled by the US Department of Education. If you've defaulted on your loans they might (MIGHT) let you pay it all off at once for a slightly lower rate. Like one of my friends defaulted and owes about 16 grand, they told if she paid 13 grand all at once they'd consider the debt settled.

The US government is not gonna except 1/6th of what you owe to them. That just ain't gonna happen. Ever. 

Not necessarily. Unsubsidized and PLUS loans go through private banks. If you went through grad school or went to private school, you may have had to borrow more than what's available subsidized.  

I thought the government had taken over all privatized student loans? Around the same time the housing market crashed. I had one through Chase and was informed that now the government was in charge of that loan.

theycallmelinz

MagicInk said:

MyNameIsNot said:

MagicInk said:

Eh, I'm not really phased...maybe I'm an idiot with my personal info, but 

Based on that your OP, it seems like it was a real company that probably would have scammed you or ended up charging you additional fees or something for consolidating your debt, but not like open credit cards in your name or steal your identity. 

Also you freaked out like a stage-5 clinger on a Sunday. Did you realize expect them to answer you? I don't really blame the woman "M" for being short and to the point with you..but I'm glad you got it sorted and feel relived. 

Hey! I got a cousin in Nigera who just came into some money. But he needs to transfer it to a US bank account...wanna help out? He'll give $1,000 if you let him wire the cash into your account!

Student loans are all handled by the US Department of Education. If you've defaulted on your loans they might (MIGHT) let you pay it all off at once for a slightly lower rate. Like one of my friends defaulted and owes about 16 grand, they told if she paid 13 grand all at once they'd consider the debt settled.

The US government is not gonna except 1/6th of what you owe to them. That just ain't gonna happen. Ever. 

Not necessarily. Unsubsidized and PLUS loans go through private banks. If you went through grad school or went to private school, you may have had to borrow more than what's available subsidized.  

I thought the government had taken over all privatized student loans? Around the same time the housing market crashed. I had one through Chase and was informed that now the government was in charge of that loan.

I'm not sure about this, but I do have a private student loan through Chase and I still pay them my payments on it. 

luckya23

MagicInk said:

MyNameIsNot said:

MagicInk said:

Eh, I'm not really phased...maybe I'm an idiot with my personal info, but 

Based on that your OP, it seems like it was a real company that probably would have scammed you or ended up charging you additional fees or something for consolidating your debt, but not like open credit cards in your name or steal your identity. 

Also you freaked out like a stage-5 clinger on a Sunday. Did you realize expect them to answer you? I don't really blame the woman "M" for being short and to the point with you..but I'm glad you got it sorted and feel relived. 

Hey! I got a cousin in Nigera who just came into some money. But he needs to transfer it to a US bank account...wanna help out? He'll give $1,000 if you let him wire the cash into your account!

Student loans are all handled by the US Department of Education. If you've defaulted on your loans they might (MIGHT) let you pay it all off at once for a slightly lower rate. Like one of my friends defaulted and owes about 16 grand, they told if she paid 13 grand all at once they'd consider the debt settled.

The US government is not gonna except 1/6th of what you owe to them. That just ain't gonna happen. Ever. 

Not necessarily. Unsubsidized and PLUS loans go through private banks. If you went through grad school or went to private school, you may have had to borrow more than what's available subsidized.  

I thought the government had taken over all privatized student loans? Around the same time the housing market crashed. I had one through Chase and was informed that now the government was in charge of that loan.

I think they sell them back and forth a lot.  I had mine through Chase, then it changed to ACS.  I had some through the federal Direct loan program, now I'm paying some people called Granite State.

cupcait927

MagicInk said:

MyNameIsNot said:

MagicInk said:

Eh, I'm not really phased...maybe I'm an idiot with my personal info, but 

Based on that your OP, it seems like it was a real company that probably would have scammed you or ended up charging you additional fees or something for consolidating your debt, but not like open credit cards in your name or steal your identity. 

Also you freaked out like a stage-5 clinger on a Sunday. Did you realize expect them to answer you? I don't really blame the woman "M" for being short and to the point with you..but I'm glad you got it sorted and feel relived. 

Hey! I got a cousin in Nigera who just came into some money. But he needs to transfer it to a US bank account...wanna help out? He'll give $1,000 if you let him wire the cash into your account!

Student loans are all handled by the US Department of Education. If you've defaulted on your loans they might (MIGHT) let you pay it all off at once for a slightly lower rate. Like one of my friends defaulted and owes about 16 grand, they told if she paid 13 grand all at once they'd consider the debt settled.

The US government is not gonna except 1/6th of what you owe to them. That just ain't gonna happen. Ever. 

Not necessarily. Unsubsidized and PLUS loans go through private banks. If you went through grad school or went to private school, you may have had to borrow more than what's available subsidized.  

I thought the government had taken over all privatized student loans? Around the same time the housing market crashed. I had one through Chase and was informed that now the government was in charge of that loan.


My private loan is still through the bank I obtained it through. I wish the federal government had taken it over so then maybe I could consolidate it with my Stafford loans and have one payment (and possibly a lower interest rate).

peachy13

Yikes, sorry OP. After you put holds on your accounts you should let the banks know that this is a fraud company as well. Big banks (BOA-- I hate them, but they're good for this sort of thing) are actually pretty effective, in my experience, about not letting your money go through to dodgy places.

If it makes you feel any better, about 8 years ago I graduated college and decided it'd be super cool to move to NYC for a job and live in my own apartment. I found a GREAT condo online with a FANTASTIC monthly rent (only $650/month for a one bedroom apartment in Manhattan? Sure!) and the place was owned by this awesome guy who was always traveling for business so he needed to rent out his condo since he was never home. The place was fully furnished and I had nothing to lose! So obviously he was out of town and if I wanted to move in immediately, all I had to do was transfer him the first and last month's rent and he'd leave me a key in his mailbox! I was so excited and lucky!!!!! 

Thankfully, the bank didn't allow me make such a ridiculously sketchy transfer (he wanted me to use moneygram or something) and I realized upon looking up his email address and the condo's address that it was total BS. I later went on to renting a horribly shitty apartment with a roommate (plus roaches!) in midtown in which the rent was twice as much than my current monthly mortgage. 

larrygaga

This made me laugh in a loving and friendly way and not in a condescending way. We all have our stupids. I hope it all works out!

loveislouder

From a legal assistant's point of view (which is not legal advice in any way, shape or form) I'd print out everything you've sent them in writing, keep talking to them in writing and be prepared for a fight if they happen to steal your shit. Documentation is key.

Also, like everyone else said, I'd LifeLock or whatever and close your account.

ashley8918

beachyone15 said: beachyone15 said:ABSOLUTELY close your account now.

And the whole thing about having a Master's degree means crap to me. I don't have one but my H does. H thought it was good to claim 8 dependents on his taxes (um, hello, wtf?). So now we owe the government over $1,000. So much for that big refund he was banking on. *eyeroll*...dumbass.


Wait... does he actually have any dependents? Isn't that tax fraud? 

He had no idea what he was doing, and unfortunately I found out after we got married and I tried to file our taxes together. If I would have known before I would have made him change it. I'm just hoping we don't get audited now.


___________________________________________________


... He didn't know that he didn't actually have 8 dependents?

And to the bolded - maybe don't post about it on the interwebz then?

sophhabobopha

Oh crap! We're all dumb sometimes, it's okay.

jenna8984

I'm pretty sure @beachyone15 means that he withheld for 8 all year, not that he actually FILED that on his return. Because you need to enter a SSN for each dependent so I doubt that he made up SSNs on his return. And didn't she say they owe like $1000? That means they caught the W4 issue when they actually filed with no dependents.

Sorry OP, we all have those moments sometimes. Hope it gets straightened out quick and they don't do too much damage!

ashley8918

jenna8984 said:

I'm pretty sure @beachyone15 means that he withheld for 8 all year, not that he actually FILED that on his return. Because you need to enter a SSN for each dependent so I doubt that he made up SSNs on his return. And didn't she say they owe like $1000? That means they caught the W4 issue when they actually filed with no dependents.

Sorry OP, we all have those moments sometimes. Hope it gets straightened out quick and they don't do too much damage!

Yeah, i'm pretty sure we all gathered that. It's just not clear fucking WHY or HOW he had no clue that he didn't actually have 8 dependants. 

luckya23

ashley8918 said:

jenna8984 said:

I'm pretty sure @beachyone15 means that he withheld for 8 all year, not that he actually FILED that on his return. Because you need to enter a SSN for each dependent so I doubt that he made up SSNs on his return. And didn't she say they owe like $1000? That means they caught the W4 issue when they actually filed with no dependents.

Sorry OP, we all have those moments sometimes. Hope it gets straightened out quick and they don't do too much damage!

Yeah, i'm pretty sure we all gathered that. It's just not clear fucking WHY or HOW he had no clue that he didn't actually have 8 dependants. 

I don't have any dependents, but I knew I was going to have a lot of closing costs last year, so I think I claimed 4 or 5?  I think I owed like $100 in the end, which was great because I needed the money during the year!

ashley8918

luckya23 said:

ashley8918 said:

jenna8984 said:

I'm pretty sure @beachyone15 means that he withheld for 8 all year, not that he actually FILED that on his return. Because you need to enter a SSN for each dependent so I doubt that he made up SSNs on his return. And didn't she say they owe like $1000? That means they caught the W4 issue when they actually filed with no dependents.

Sorry OP, we all have those moments sometimes. Hope it gets straightened out quick and they don't do too much damage!

Yeah, i'm pretty sure we all gathered that. It's just not clear fucking WHY or HOW he had no clue that he didn't actually have 8 dependants. 

I don't have any dependents, but I knew I was going to have a lot of closing costs last year, so I think I claimed 4 or 5?  I think I owed like $100 in the end, which was great because I needed the money during the year!

Right, but it sounds like he didn't make the concious choice and just oopsed it... and, like, how?!

WinstonsGirl

Maybe it was stupid to do, but you figured that pretty quick and are learning.  I hope you're able to shut everything down ok.  

luckya23

ashley8918 said:

luckya23 said:

ashley8918 said:

jenna8984 said:

I'm pretty sure @beachyone15 means that he withheld for 8 all year, not that he actually FILED that on his return. Because you need to enter a SSN for each dependent so I doubt that he made up SSNs on his return. And didn't she say they owe like $1000? That means they caught the W4 issue when they actually filed with no dependents.

Sorry OP, we all have those moments sometimes. Hope it gets straightened out quick and they don't do too much damage!

Yeah, i'm pretty sure we all gathered that. It's just not clear fucking WHY or HOW he had no clue that he didn't actually have 8 dependants. 

I don't have any dependents, but I knew I was going to have a lot of closing costs last year, so I think I claimed 4 or 5?  I think I owed like $100 in the end, which was great because I needed the money during the year!

Right, but it sounds like he didn't make the concious choice and just oopsed it... and, like, how?!

0s sometimes looks like 8s??

ashley8918

luckya23 said:

ashley8918 said:

luckya23 said:

ashley8918 said:

jenna8984 said:

I'm pretty sure @beachyone15 means that he withheld for 8 all year, not that he actually FILED that on his return. Because you need to enter a SSN for each dependent so I doubt that he made up SSNs on his return. And didn't she say they owe like $1000? That means they caught the W4 issue when they actually filed with no dependents.

Sorry OP, we all have those moments sometimes. Hope it gets straightened out quick and they don't do too much damage!

Yeah, i'm pretty sure we all gathered that. It's just not clear fucking WHY or HOW he had no clue that he didn't actually have 8 dependants. 

I don't have any dependents, but I knew I was going to have a lot of closing costs last year, so I think I claimed 4 or 5?  I think I owed like $100 in the end, which was great because I needed the money during the year!

Right, but it sounds like he didn't make the concious choice and just oopsed it... and, like, how?!

0s sometimes looks like 8s??

That seems like a stretch.

theycallmelinz

So update, because you all are awesome and gave me fantastic tips. I've frozen my credit, so no one can run my credit without my prior authorization, hopefully preventing anyone from opening new accounts in my name. I'm closing my bank account on Wednesday. I can't do it sooner because my dad has to be with me since his name is also on the account (it's the same account I've had since he helped me open it when I turned 18). In the meantime I've transferred all my money into mine and FI's joint account so they can't take my money. Worst case scenario, I get over drafted if they try to withdraw anything and then I will refute the charges. I hope I've covered all the possible bases for now. Thank you all for your help and advice on dealing with this!

blabla89

It sounds like you're doing all the right things, OP. Kudos to you for getting it all done so quickly.

KatieinBkln

And--bonus--when you open the new account it can be ALL YOURS! No offense to your dad, who I am sure is a wonderful human being. But you are a real adult now (having suffered the rite of passage of an identity theft scare).

theycallmelinz

KatieinBkln said:

And--bonus--when you open the new account it can be ALL YOURS! No offense to your dad, who I am sure is a wonderful human being. But you are a real adult now (having suffered the rite of passage of an identity theft scare).

This exactly. That's what I told FI last night. It's not that my dad is nosy and checks up on my account, but it's not necessary that he be on there anymore and at this point it's inconvenient. My bank account could have been closed yesterday if his name hadn't been on there. 

mikenberger

luckya23 said:

ashley8918 said:

luckya23 said:

ashley8918 said:

jenna8984 said:

I'm pretty sure @beachyone15 means that he withheld for 8 all year, not that he actually FILED that on his return. Because you need to enter a SSN for each dependent so I doubt that he made up SSNs on his return. And didn't she say they owe like $1000? That means they caught the W4 issue when they actually filed with no dependents.

Sorry OP, we all have those moments sometimes. Hope it gets straightened out quick and they don't do too much damage!

Yeah, i'm pretty sure we all gathered that. It's just not clear fucking WHY or HOW he had no clue that he didn't actually have 8 dependants. 

I don't have any dependents, but I knew I was going to have a lot of closing costs last year, so I think I claimed 4 or 5?  I think I owed like $100 in the end, which was great because I needed the money during the year!

Right, but it sounds like he didn't make the concious choice and just oopsed it... and, like, how?!

0s sometimes looks like 8s??

I withhold 1 on my W4. When I get married, I'll probably start withholding 2. I'm not down with giving the government an interest free loan of MY money. Which is what a tax refund is, pretty much, just a return of all the money they used over the year. I'd rather have that in my pocket to begin. 

ETA: I have no dependents.