{"id":7949,"date":"2015-11-24T02:37:04","date_gmt":"2015-11-24T07:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=7949"},"modified":"2020-09-09T12:56:03","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T16:56:03","slug":"dont-fall-for-the-offer-in-compromise-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/dont-fall-for-the-offer-in-compromise-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Fall for the Offer in Compromise Scam"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Offer in Compromise scam is one of the most prevalent on the internet and television.\u00a0 As the first post on this new tax site, I\u2019ll explain how to avoid the Offer in Compromise scam.<\/strong><\/p>\n Whenever you hear \u201cwe can settle your tax debt, often for pennies on the dollar,\u201d it\u2019s probably a scam.\u00a0 The truth is that very few Offer in Compromise filings are successful.\u00a0 A quality firm might succeed 50% of the time.\u00a0 The Offer in Compromise scam mills probably get 1% – 5% of the OICs they file approved.<\/p>\n A few years ago, big firms were cashing in on the Offer in Compromise scam.\u00a0 One of them, Tax Masters in Texas, even went public.\u00a0 Then, to put it simply, the U.S. government came in and crushed them.<\/p>\n If you want to read a bit of Offer in Compromise scam history, google Tax Masters, Roni Lynn Deutch, and J.K. Harris.\u00a0 For those of us in the industry, Tax Masters is the most interesting.\u00a0 Because of their IPO, their cash flow, how much they spent on advertising ($100M), numbers of clients, and their success rate is all public record.\u00a0 It\u2019s a good read, fantasy, history, and scam rolled into one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nowadays, the Offer in Compromise scam has a different modus operandi.\u00a0 Gone are the big cash machines, replaced by marketers who sell the leads generated by their TV ads and\/or websites to anyone who will buy them.<\/p>\n Many of these Offer in Compromise scammers have call centers in India that \u201cqualify\u201d the lead before transferring it to the buyer.\u00a0 None of them have any tax knowledge or experience in going to battle with the IRS.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here is how to identify a scammer:<\/p>\n (1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A qualifier answers the call and then needs to transfer to you to one of his \u201cexperts.\u201d<\/p>\n (2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 They tell you that you need expert help, and may qualify for an Offer in Compromise, if you owe $10,000 or more to the IRS.\u00a0 Most professionals won\u2019t touch a case unless you owe $25,000 to $50,000.\u00a0 At $10,000, you are much better off doing it yourself.<\/p>\n (3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Offer in Compromise scam websites often contain a few pages of basic information and then want you to fill in a form to be \u201cpre-qualified.\u201d\u00a0 These are called landing page websites and they sell your data for $35 to $100.<\/p>\nMarketers Who Sell Leads<\/h3>\n