Its tax season, and soon, the W-2’s and associated forms will start circulating, which means we must be aware of tax scams. In past years, there have been three popular scams criminals have used that people fall victim to. The three scams include falsifying tax returns and filing them in a victim’s name, calling a victim and pretending to be Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents, and phishing emails.

Falsifying tax returns and filing them in a victim’s name can occur when a malicious actor finds or receives information about the tax filer, including the filer’s name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number. The malicious actor then uses this information to file a malicious tax return, citing as many deductions as possible, in order to create the largest tax return possible.

Another scam occurs when the malicious actor contacts the victim and tries to convince the victim to do something, such as immediately paying a fine or providing their financial information so a refund can be issued. In these instances, the malicious actor uses what they know about the victim, often information gained for a data breach or social networking website, to convince the victim that the caller has access to the victim’s tax information. Frequently during these calls, the caller will pretend to be an IRS agent.

In the third type of tax scam, malicious actors use tax-related spam, phishing emails, and fraudulent websites to trick victims into providing login names, passwords, or additional information, which can be used in further fraud. Other emails or websites may also download malware to a person’s computer that may make them vulnerable to tax fraud.

Be Cautious

·Watch for “spoofed” websites that look like the official website but are not.

·Don’t be fooled by unsolicited calls. The IRS will never call to demand immediate payment or require you to use a specific payment method such as pre-loaded debit or credit cards, or wire transfers. They will never claim anything is “urgent” or due immediately, nor will they request payment over the phone. If you owe taxes, the IRS will first mail you a bill before contacting you through another medium.

·The IRS will not be hostile, insulting, or threatening, nor will they threaten to involve law enforcement in order to have you arrested or deported.

·Sometimes malicious actors change their Caller ID to say they are the IRS. If you’re not sure, ask for the agent’s name, hang up, and call the IRS (or your state tax agency) back using a phone number from their official website.

Recommendations

If you believe you are the victim of identity theft or identity fraud, there are a couple of steps you should take:

1. File a report with your local law enforcement agency.

2. File a report with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at www.identitytheft.gov.

3. File a report with the three major credit bureaus and request a “fraud alert” for your account (Equifax – www.equifax.com, Experian – www.experian.com, TransUnion –www.transunion.com)

If you receive spam or a phishing email about your taxes, do not click on the links or open any attachments; instead, forward the email to phishing@irs.gov. Other tax scams or frauds can be reported according to the directions on this IRS Suspected Tax Fraud web page.