Catch These Red Flags To Stop Tax Scammers
As technology evolves with new ways to communicate, scammers quickly create ways to take advantage of these systems to swindle innocent victims for their money and personal information. Stay alert and know what to watch out for, because tax scammers will try to trick unsuspecting persons into giving them their sensitive information or money all year long. That’s why we’re going over tax scam red flags today.
What To Look Out For
The IRS is extremely professional and organized, whereas scammers can adopt unorthodox methods, such as getting aggressive over the phone, on social media sites, and even by text message. If anyone from the IRS contacts you in an aggressive manner don’t give them any information and contact your local IRS office or tax preparer first.
Also, know that the IRS will never ask for important information such as your social security number or debit card number over the phone, email, or unsecured sites, so never give up your card information.
Other red flags when it comes to making a payment include being asked to make a wire transfer, pay with a prepaid card, or to pay with gift cards. Those are not forms of payment that the IRS will ask for. Keep in mind that you’ll never be asked for a payment without being able to appeal or question the amount.
In some cases the scammer may not be aggressive, instead, they will say that you’ve actually received a bigger refund and need your information to deposit money into your account. The IRS will never first mail you a bill or notice about a further refund.
Phishing emails and text messages trying to get personal and financial information are currently on the rise. Just as scammers work very hard to impersonate IRS representatives over the phone, they’ll try to make their emails and texts seem as legitimate as possible.
They’ll even illegally use the IRS name and logo, but the IRS does provide updates about this fraudulent use. Remember, the IRS will never make initial contact about a bill or refund via email.
Some guys don’t stop at fake emails and build fake filing or e-filing sites. Before trusting a site make sure that they have the legitimate ‘IRS authorized’ logo. There are certain rules and standards put in place for the use of the logo. If it’s pixilated or looks like it was copied and pasted then don’t provide the site with your information.
A legitimate business will have a professional look and design. Plus, the site will be safe and secure. They may even list which company they use to keep their client’s information safe.
If a site looks like the real deal, but you still aren’t sure about it, Google the company and see what you find, read the reviews, ask someone for a second opinion, etc.
Keep Your Information Safe
Even though we aren’t in the main tax season, tax scams occur every day. If you receive an aggressive phone call, email, text message, message, and more, keep your wits about you and never give out your information. You can always contact the IRS or your tax professional if anything seems strange or fishy.
For more tax blogs visit ExpressExtension.com and please share your tips about tax scams in the comment section below.
