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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), state tax agencies, and the tax industry have issued a warning about last-minute phishing scams.
With just about a month to go in the tax season, the IRS notes that "tax-related scams of various sorts are at their peak." As a result, the IRS is urging both tax professionals and taxpayers to be on guard against suspicious activity.
In one new scam, thieves posing as taxpayers are sending emails to tax preparers requesting a last-minute change to their refund destinations. The request often directs refunds to a prepaid debit card or a different mailing address. The IRS is urging tax preparers to verbally confirm any such requests directly with the taxpayer before making a change.
In another scam, taxpayers are receiving emails allegedly from their tax software provider or others asking them to update online accounts. As part of the scam, taxpayers are asked to give up sensitive data such as passwords, Social Security numbers, and bank account or credit card numbers. The IRS urges taxpayers to be on alert and recognize phishing emails, calls or texts from scammers posing as banks, credit card companies, tax software providers or the IRS. My advice? If in doubt, assume it's a scam.
If you receive a suspicious email purporting to be from a tax software provider or from the IRS, the IRS encourages you to forward it to phishing@irs.gov. Remember that you should never open an attachment or link from an unknown or suspicious source: it may infect your computer with malware or attempt to steal your information.
As an additional reminder, the IRS will never:
- Call to demand immediate payment over the phone, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you several bills.
- Call or email you to verify your identity by asking for personal and financial information.
- Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
- Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
- Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone or email.
- Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
The IRS, state tax agencies, and the tax industry, acting as the Security Summit, have enacted many safeguards against identity theft for 2017 (such as the new 16-digit verification code which appears on certain forms W-2). However, the IRS warns that cybercriminals are ever evolving and make use of sophisticated scams to trick people into divulging sensitive data.
Don’t fall for the tricks. Keep your personal information safe this tax season by remaining alert. For tips on protecting yourself from identity theft related tax fraud, click here.
