The IRS recently announced its 2020 edition of its annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams with a special emphasis on aggressive and evolving schemes related to COVID-19 tax relief, including Economic Impact Payments. Here are six of the more common scams.
Phishing – Phishing refers to potential fake emails or websites looking to steal your personal information. Remember the IRS will never initiate contact with you via email about an outstanding tax bill, refund, or Economic Impact Payment.
What you can do: If you receive any suspicious phishing emails, forward them to phishing@irs.gov.
Fake charities – Criminals frequently exploit natural disasters and other crisis situations such as this year’s pandemic by setting up fake charities to steal donations. Fraudulent schemes normally start with unsolicited contact by telephone, text, social media, e-mail, or even in person.
What you can do: Verify the charity’s existence by searching for it using the IRS’s search tool.
Threatening phone calls from IRS impersonators – IRS impersonation scams include phone calls threatening arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don’t pay a bogus tax bill. The IRS will never demand immediate payment or ask for financial information over the phone.
What you can do: If you received a phone call, contact your local IRS office to verify whether you owe any taxes.
Social media scams – A scammer will use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to obtain personal information from you, then use that information to trick you into providing them with confidential information. For example, the scammer could impersonate a family member, friend, or co-worker in an attempt to obtain financial information.
What you can do: Be careful of publishing confidential information on social media. Verify the identity of any person or organization that asks you for confidential information.
Economic impact payment or tax refund theft – Criminals file false tax returns or supply other bogus information to the IRS to divert refunds or Economic Impact Payments to wrong addresses or bank accounts.
What you can do: Contact a qualified professional to help walk you through how to report identity theft to the IRS.
Senior fraud – Senior citizens have become more comfortable with various technologies such as social media. This has opened the door for scammers to take advantage of senior citizens by using fake emails, text messages, and fake websites to steal personal information.
What you can do: Be the eyes and ears for the senior citizens you come in contact with. According to the IRS, anecdotal evidence indicates that senior fraud decreases substantially when a trusted friend or family member takes an interest in the senior’s affairs.
For further reading on how to protect your self against fraud and tax scams, this article offers more sound advice.
