Welcome
M.A. Hoops
Clients & Friends!
On Sept. 1, 2014, the Lima
firm, M.A. Hoops & Associates,
merged with Rea & Associates.
The single, stronger practice
formed as a result of this merger
better positions us to provide
accounting, auditing, tax and
business consulting services
throughout the Lima area.
We are excited to welcome these
new readers, clients and friends
to our quarterly newsletter, The
Rea Report. Our goal is to provide
in-depth information and business tips to help you become
better business professionals.
We are excited to share our
knowledge with you through
this newsletter. If you’d like to
view past issues of The Rea
Report, you can find them at
www.ReaCPA.com/the-rea-report.
We are always open to feedback,
so if you have comments about
this newsletter, or suggestions for
future articles, please send them to
[email protected].
Once again, welcome aboard!
New Lima Office
And Address
The Lima team is anticipating
the move to their new office at
2579 Shawnee Rd., Lima, OH
45806. The move is planned for
Dec. 22, 2014. If you have any
questions about the move, call
the Lima office at 419-331-1040.
Rea’s Mentor
Office Has Moved!
The Mentor team recently
moved to a new location on
Center Street in Mentor. The
new address for the Rea Mentor office is: 7201 Center St.,
Mentor, OH, 44060. If you have
any questions about the move,
please call the Mentor office at
440-266-0077.
2
By Maribeth Wright,
CPA, principal
(Cambridge office)
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER VICTIM
Beware of IRS Phone Scams
S
he wasn’t expecting the call, but claiming to be the IRS this year. And as of
she answered it anyway. Regard- August, more than 90,000 complaints
less of who was on the other end, regarding the scam have been made to the
she thought she was prepared – even if it IRS and the Treasury Inspector General for
was just a telemarketer. She felt confident Tax Administration (TIGTA).
as she pulled the receiver to her ear. The “The increasing number of people receiving
feeling of confidence was soon replaced these unsolicited calls from individuals
with shock, confusion and worry.
who fraudulently claim to represent the
The person on the other end of the line, IRS is alarming,” said J. Russell George,
claiming to be an IRS representative, was TIGTA, earlier this year.
intense and menacing – and his message “This is not how we operate,” explained
wasn’t any better. The woman listened as IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. “Taxhe told her that she owed back taxes to payers should remember that their first
the IRS. Failure to pay, he warned, would contact with the IRS will not be a call out
result in arrest and confiscation of her of the blue.”
home and vehicles. The only way she
could clear her name and make things DON’T BE A PHONE SCAM VICTIM
right with the government agency was to
If you think you might owe taxes or that there
pay up immediately.
may be an issue with your taxes, call the IRS
In a flurry of panic and confusion, she directly at 1-800-829-1040. An authorized
quickly proceeded to withdraw hundreds IRS representative can help you determine if
of dollars from her bank account, purchase you have a payment due.
a prepaid credit card and read the card’s
If you get a suspicious call from someone
number a