BBB serving Greater Kentucky and South Central Indiana warns of an imposter scam impacting a local business.
Bob Sokoler, owner of The Real Estate Bulldogs, called BBB to report a scammer who has been posing as Sokoler in both an attempted imposter scam and tax scam. The scammer, using Sokoler’s name and his company’s name, has reportedly sent dozens of fraudulent 1099 forms to Preferred Staffing, a local recruitment agency, in an attempt to convert those forms to W-2s. Preferred Staffing became aware of the tax scam after noticing discrepancies in tax forms. Sokoler was alerted to the imposter scam after receiving calls from staffing agencies like Preferred Staffing.
Though not confirmed, it is likely the scammer was hoping to receive money in the form of tax refunds by falsely claiming they hired these “employees.”
BBB has seen a rise of imposter scams in recent months. Imposter scams can take many forms, including but not limited to impersonating a business owner, as in Bob Sokoler’s case, impersonating a utilities company such as LG&E, and using a legitimate company’s name to create a fake website. BBB advises both business owners and consumers to remain diligent, verify information, and regularly monitor credit reports. More information from BBB regarding imposter scams can be found here: https://www.bbb.org/article/news-releases/21686-how-to-avoid-impostor-scams.