Tax Day – IRS Scam to Watch Out For
Well, it’s officially April 15th…or Tax Day here in the United States. Most people dislike tax day for many reasons, but mostly its because of the huge financial loss that happens in the bank account. Many other people are struggling to get all of their paperwork together and sent off “on-time” to make sure no penalty’s will need to be paid. Others love tax day due to receiving money back or enjoying FREE food at participating Tax Day Break restaurants (participating restaurant list here) . One major concern of Tax Day is all of the computer and digital fraud that takes place in an attempt to scam taxpayers out of even more money. The following article was posted on Kiplinger.com this week, and we wanted to make all of our customers and blog followers aware of whats going on.
“IRS Warns of E-mail Tax Scam
Watch out for bogus e-mails claiming there’s a problem with your 2013 tax return.
If you get an e-mail that appears to be from the IRS and claims that there is a problem with your 2013 tax return, do not respond. It’s the latest scam to surface this tax season.
Scammers are sending phishing e-mails that appear to be from the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service and warn taxpayers that their 2013 income has been flagged for review due to a document processing error, according to the IRS.
To resolve the issue, recipients are instructed to contact the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service by clicking on a link within the e-mail. The link supposedly provides information about the taxpayer advocate assigned to their case or allows taxpayers to review their reported income. However, the IRS reports that the link actually leads to a Web site that solicits personal information—which thieves can use to steal your identity or access your accounts.
Although the Taxpayer Advocate Service is a legitimate entity, it does not initiate contact with taxpayers by e-mail, text or any social media network—nor does the IRS. If you receive an e-mail that appears to be from the IRS or Taxpayer Advocate Service, do not reply to it and do not click on any links within the e-mail. Forward the e-mail to the IRS at [email protected]
Also beware of phone scams during tax season. Scammers have been calling people across the country claiming that they owe money to the IRS and making threats including arrest if they don’t pay up, according to the IRS. Learn more about this phone scam as well as steps to take to lower your risk of fraud during tax season.
Reprinted with permission. All Contents ©2014
By Cameron Huddleston, Kiplinger.com
The Kiplinger Washington Editors. Kiplinger.com”