MakuaMan Loc: Waianae, Hi.

This to make any current or former Ca. residents aware that this screwed up state is now in the business of SCAMMING it's residents with official documents.
I was about to send photo copy's of my Drivers License and my Social Security Card when checking online about an official looking CITIBANK email saying I was to receive $14,300,000.00 inheritance and discovered both were scam's. I've been Scammed once in Hawai'i and now check things out by going online right away. So BEWARE !!!.

Aloha,LostHawaiian

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

You're kidding, right?

Bazbo Loc: Lisboa, Portugal

It's not really clear from your description what this scam .has to do with the State of California or the Franchise Tax Board.

In any case, I am glad you were able to pull out before you lost any money.

FrumCA

You must be joking about thinking you had inherited $14+M based on a notice from Citibank??

JAW Loc: LA

Sounds like the whole thing was made up by OP - not a scam - just plain BS from start to finish. The OP has our responses - hope they are satisfied.

Ziza Loc: USA

You should not rush to make such a statement; it is rather premature to reach this conclusion without knowing all the details. Maybe the OP didn't express himself/herself clearly. It is well known that scammers impersonate government agencies such as the IRS (their favorite target). Consequently, the scam described by the OP is not a far-fetched one. According to the article below, a warning was issued that IRS scams are on the rise. The article also talks about the fact that the taxing agencies in the State of California do send e-mails to the taxpayers; this makes it harder to detect a scam. Therefore, a State of California FTB/Inheritance/Citibank Email scam is a frightening possibility. Just keep in mind that it is not the FTB doing the scam but an IMPERSONATOR.

http://www.examiner.com/article/irs-scams-are-on-the-rise-and-are-now-more-difficult-to-spot

MakuaMan Loc: Waianae, Hi.

ALOHA,Ziza

The CITIBANK was an email I received and the State Franchise Tax Board sent me official documents to fill out which I did to prove I was under their minimum income level and did not need to file with them. Then they sent me another letter asking for a police report, copy's of my drivers license, social security benefit statement, determination letter for state disability insurance and a copy of my IRS Federal tax return. At the top of the letter is a state of California seal and State of California Franchise Tax Board Inc Business Section F180. With a po box in Sacramento which I won't put down for fear of violating some rule here at UHH.

I was about to mail photo copy's of my D.L. and S.S.card when I got the email from CITIBANK and became suspicious so I went online and goggled Citibank and some of the results brought up a phishing scam concerning Citibank emails and another for State of California Franchise Tax Board scam that a recent resident who now lives in Washington State had received that was exactly the same as the one I received. Needless to say I did not send the information to them.

I only receive Federal Disability and have never filed for State Disability but the document looks official to me so I was going to respond to not get in trouble with the state until I found that result online.

I was not aware of scams involving the IRS. I did call them and believe I got the Dept. of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service as I had lost documents in my move from Hawaii to California for 2007,2008 and 2009 and they sent me the income information and it looks correct. They had me fill out Form 14039 Identity Theft Affidavit. So maybe they will pass this on to the FBI or investigate themselves.

Bottom line as far as I'm concerned is I think I'll make them come after me to prove my guilt instead of doing their work for them. After all YOU are presumed innocent until proven guilty in this country.

Hope that described it a little better.

Aloha LostHawaiian

MakuaMan Loc: Waianae, Hi.

The CITIBANK email looked official also but I've received emails before from Nigeria and others that I knew were scams and that is why I went online and put in Citibank New York to check it out. No Joke!.

Aloha L.H.

MakuaMan Loc: Waianae, Hi.

Not sure if I'm the OP in your response. If so your totally wrong about it being BS.

Aloha L.H.

P.S. BTW some people are gullible and maybe I'm one but if you read my responses to all the responders you'll see there are some real evil people out there that don't have the guts to rob a bank or someone personally so they do it online where they can hide like the cowards that they are.

MakuaMan Loc: Waianae, Hi.

Not at all. Go online and look up Citibank New York and look at the results and you'll see the State Franchise Tax Board one there.

Aloha L.H.

Ziza Loc: USA

Aloha LostHawaiian,

Thanks for the detailed information! It was a great thing you were on the alert. Good for you; bad for the scammer(s).

I didn't think for one moment your story was what JAW so assuredly defined.


Reports of scams involving an alleged inheritance and Citibank abound. The e-mail usually says that Citibank will be handling the transfer of the money to your bank account and, therefore, you need to provide all the details of your bank account to Citibank. The only problem is that it is not Citibank but a Citibank's IMPERSONATOR. Here is one of such reports.

http://scamsfrommyemail.blogspot.com/2012/09/payment-of-your-inheritance-fund-valued.html

MakuaMan Loc: Waianae, Hi.

Where is the FBI and why don't they do there job since this type of thing is so wide spread. I do appreciate people like you who pass on link's to inform other's . Mahalo!