Consulate General, Edinburgh
E-Newsletter, October 2007
http://london.usembassy.gov/scotland
We want to keep you updated on events that affect Americans across the world and to notify you of events of interest in Scotland. Feel free to forward this e-mail to friends or co-workers.
Upcoming Consulate Holidays:
The Consulate will be closed Monday, Nov. 12 and Thursday Nov. 22.
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Upcoming American Citizen Services Visit
The U.S. Consul will provide American Citizen Services in Aberdeen on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2007 from 3 - 5 p.m.
If you would like to see the Consul at this time, please forward your name, U.S. passport number, and type of service required (e.g. passport, report of birth) to Edinburgh-Info@state.gov. You will then be forwarded additional details.
Bearsden Choir performs ”The American Dream“
This very special concert will be performed in the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow on Nov. 4, 2007. The program features pieces by Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copeland, Tippet, and Randall Thompson. For more information, please visit www.bearsdenchoir.co.uk or phone 0141-587-1665.
New Scam
The Trading Standards Office are making people aware of the following scam:
A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel and that you need to contact them on
0906-661-1911 (a premium rate number).
DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize. If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will already have been billed £15 for the phone call.
If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal Mail Fraud on 0207-239-6655 or ICSTIS (the premium rate service regulator) at www.icstis.org.uk.
Scams – Part II
The Internal Revenue Service would like all taxpayers to be aware that they should be on the look-out for tax scams via email, personal mail or phone. Increasingly, scam artists are targeting taxpayers in order to receive money or personal information to use for identity theft. Additionally, these scams are not always limited to US citizens; any person who has a connection to the US can be a recipient.
There are a few recent scams that are fairly widespread. A common email scam tells you that you are owed a refund, but that in order to receive it you must go to a linked webpage and enter your credit card information and social security number. Another email scam is titled “Tax Avoidance Investigation” and asks you to complete an investigation form via a link. This link leads to a virus instead. A recent scam by mail (mostly targeting foreign citizens) is titled “Final Amnesty Tax Notification” and asks you to fill out a form with a large amount of personal financial information and fax it back to them.
There are a few important things to know when on the lookout for a scam. The IRS never sends unsolicited emails to taxpayers, nor do we discuss taxpayer account information over email. If you owe the IRS money or there is a problem with your return, you will receive a notice through the mail.
The most important thing to do to avoid being scammed is simply to use common sense. If you think a letter, phone-call or email is asking for information that the IRS should already have or would have no need in having, then be smart and double-check it with us. The IRS office in the Embassy is here to help taxpayers, and that includes you!
Voting News
In just three months, we will be entering the U. S. presidential and state primary season. Five primaries are currently slated for January, another 20 are scheduled for February, and the rest take place from early March through early October. Registration for the first primary (the District of Columbia) closes December 10, 2007. We encourage you to act now so that your opinion is heard – not only in the November 2008 presidential and general elections, but also in the presidential primary and state primary elections! The official U.S. Government website for overseas absentee voting assistance is the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) website www.fvap.gov.
Non-partisan information about candidates, their voting records, and their positions on issues is widely available and easy to obtain via the Internet. Use the links appearing on the FVAP website at www.fvap.gov/links/otherlinks.html , read your hometown newspaper on-line, or search the Internet to locate articles and information.
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