Getting Fooled By The False IRS
I outsmarted a shady company today.
Cookie Paradise needed an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for tax purpose. EINs are issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
In my haste, I went to the first website on Google search that I found. The website's title had the word "IRS" on it. It looked legit.
"You're kidding me," I thought. Quickly, I ran back to the website and saw that it had a .com domain. I have been dubbed.
After another quick Google search, I learned that U.S. laws allow customers a 3-day "cool down" period to cancel an online service. There was still hope.
I called the shady company, got to their voicemail. No response.
I sent them an email. "I want to cancel."
I did another search. Each LLC can only have one EIN. An idea sparked in my head. I rushed to the IRS's official website - a .gov domain this time - filled out the application exactly the way I did, and... voila, the IRS gave me an EIN. It took 5 minutes total and was free.
Aha! Shady company, now even if you file on my behalf, you won't be able to obtain an EIN for my business, because I beat you to it.
The shady company did respond to my email and cancel my order. Money to be returned to my credit card. I guess they are not completely shady, just preying on the naïve and less technologically savvy.
It's a the-strong-prey-on-the-weak world out there.
Stay alert, friends!
