Be Aware of Tax Scams this Tax Season

Posted on April 15, 2021 by VP of Marketing and Business Development Jessica

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that the 2020 federal income tax filing deadline for individuals would be extended from April 15th to May 17th in response to the ongoing recovery efforts surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, and to help provide taxpayers some ongoing relief.

In the midst of tax season, it’s important to be reminded that there is often an increase of fraud attempts and tax scams. Annually, the IRS shares and emphasizes certain scams that may be of risk to taxpayers. This year, scams related to Coronavirus tax relief continue to target taxpayers.

Here are a few things to be on the lookout for this tax season, as extensions can create confusion and make tax payers more susceptible to fraud attempts. The IRS recently announced the following to be aware of for the 2021 tax filing season:

Phishing Scams: Taxpayers should be alert to potential fake emails, texts, phone calls, or websites looking to steal their personal information.
Phone Scams (Vishing): These scam phone calls work hard to instill a sense of urgency, and often threaten arrest, deportation, or some type of retaliation if a tax bill is left unpaid.
Charity Scams: These schemes share bogus information about a charity to trick people into sending money or into providing personal information. This is often attempted with a fake website, using names similar to legitimate charities, or unsolicited communication.
Social Media Scams: Social media scams frequently use events (lately COVID-19) to trick people into disclosing personal information. Typically, this involves convincing a potential victim they are dealing with a person they trust via email, text, or social media direct messaging.
Refund Theft Scams: Refund and Economic Impact Payments (EIP) as provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act have been targeted in recent scams with identity theft and filing false tax returns to divert funds to the wrong address or bank account.
Elder Fraud: Seniors are more likely to be targeted and victimized by scammers due to unfamiliarity or uncertainty on how to respond across digital channels.
Offer in Compromise (OIC) Scams: Misleading tax debt resolution companies can exaggerate chances to settle tax debt through an Offer in Compromise (OIC) and submit false applications for candidates. OIC offers are available for a bill reduction, but taxpayers must typically meet very specific criteria under law to qualify.
Payroll and HR Scams: Phishing scams are designed to steal W-2 and other tax information. This scheme has increased with many businesses still closed and employees working from home due to COVID-19. W-2 forms contain sensitive information and are highly valuable for identity thieves.
Ransomware Scams: This cybercrime targets human and technical weaknesses to infect a potential victim’s computer, network, or server. Once infected, ransomware looks for and locks critical or sensitive data with its own encryption.

Consider these preventative tips to keep your personal and financial information safe this tax season:

Be cautious of communication: Communication requesting personal or financial information – tax related or otherwise, should be treated with caution. The IRS and state tax authorities will never reach out by phone, email, text, or social media.
Pay attention to how money is requested: The IRS does not require that taxes or bills be paid with a prepaid/reloadable debit card, gift card, or money wires through services like Western Union or MoneyGram.
Report threatening messages: Calls demanding immediate payment or threatening legal action are more than likely scam attempts. The IRS or state of residence will not call to discuss taxes you owe without first mailing you an official bill.
Don’t open attachments or click on links: This is especially true if you have suspicions about the communication source you received, which may contain a malicious code or virus that will infect your device. Cybercriminals will often use a phishing email to trick a potential victim into opening a link or an attachment containing ransomware.
Be wary of rejected file requests due to duplication: If an e-filed return is rejected because a duplicate EIN/SSN is already on file with the IRS, or an unexpected receipt of a tax transcript doesn’t correspond to anything previously submitted – it may be a warning sign of identity theft.

If a tax scam is suspected, report it to your state authorities and/or the Federal Trade Commission here.

Find out more about tax scams from the IRS website here.

Think First because There’s Harm In Not Knowing!

Article Source: CUInsight.com

4 Ways to Identify a Tax Scam

Posted on March 15, 2019 by VP of Marketing and Business Development Jessica

Tax filing season is of course a busy time of year. It’s also a busy time of year for scammers. According to a recent Federal Trade Commission report, of the $1.48 billion total reported fraud, consumers lost nearly $488 million to imposter scams in 2018. Fraud schemes range from debt collector calls or emails claiming you haven’t paid your taxes, to someone posing as an official from the IRS or local law enforcement agency threatening arrest, suspension of your driver’s license or some other penalty if you don’t immediately wire funds to pay your taxes. The scams have become increasingly sophisticated and hard to detect.

Here is what you need to know about the IRS and tax scams:

The first contact from the IRS is through regular mail delivered by the United States Postal Service. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text message or social media channels. Even if they call you to set up appointments or discuss an audit, you would first receive notification by mail. Only after mailing an official notification of an audit can an auditor/tax examiner follow up by phone. Forward any suspicious emails to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov. Alleged IRS or tax debt collection calls should be reported to (800) 366-4484.

Payments to the IRS are only payable to the United State Treasury. They do not accept payment in the form of prepaid debit cards, gift cards, or wire transfers.

IRS agents will NEVER demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or dispute the amount they say you owe. They must advise you of your rights as a taxpayer. They CANNOT threaten to bring in local police, immigration officers or other law enforcement agencies to have you arrested for not paying your taxes. The IRS also has zero authority to revoke your driver’s license, business license, or immigration status.

If an IRS representative calls or comes to a home or business unannounced to collect a tax debt or as part of an investigation, they will always provide two forms of official credentials: a pocket commission and an HSPD-12 card. You have a right to see the credentials and can call the IRS to verify the identity/information on the representative’s HSPD-12 card.

The moral of the story: be aware, do your research, and don’t become a victim of a tax scam this tax filing season!

Article Source: Myriam DiGiovanni for Financialfeed.com

Let the Taxpayer Beware: Learn to Spot 6 Common Tax Scams

Posted on March 12, 2019 by VP of Marketing and Business Development Jessica

Now that your W2s and miscellaneous tax documents have arrived, tax season is officially in full swing. While it’s easy to get lost in optimistic daydreams about your tax refund and all you’re planning to do with it, it’s important to remember that scam artists are probably dreaming about what they could do with your refund as well.

After reaching an all-time high of more than 700,000 cases in 2015, tax refund fraud has been declining thanks to significant enforcement efforts by federal, state, and private agencies. While these statistics are encouraging, they also highlight the ongoing need for caution and vigilance. So, before you file your 2018 taxes or pay someone to file for you, we want to remind you about six of the most common tax-related scams happening today.

Phishing Emails

This one is relatively easy to spot. Why’s that, you ask? Because the IRS doesn’t initiate communication with taxpayers via email. So, if you see an email from the IRS pop up in your inbox—even one that looks remarkably official, don’t open it. For good measure, go ahead and mark it as spam before deleting it. Emails of this type have only one goal: to trick you into clicking a fraudulent hyperlink or responding with sensitive personal information.

Phishing 2.0

In 2018, the IRS reported a new twist on traditional phishing scams. In the new approach, fraudsters hacked the systems of legitimate tax professionals, stole tax returns containing personal details, and then deposited funds directly into taxpayer bank accounts. After those deposits hit the bank, the criminals posed as the IRS or collection agencies and contacted account holders demanding a resolution to the error. The goal of these scams is not to simply regain the money deposited “in error,” but to get the victim to share account details that can be used to access the account at another time. If you find yourself with an unexpected deposit in your bank account, the IRS offers helpful instructions here.

Phone scams

Though they come via phone call, these scams are essentially the same as phishing emails. The difference lies in the fact that con artists can spoof IRS phone numbers in an attempt to convince unsuspecting people to answer the call. Once the phone call is underway, the person on the other end claims to be an IRS agent and tries to get the individual to confirm private account details in an attempt to “resolve the situation.” If they don’t get the results they’re hoping for, the fraudsters may even follow-up with phone calls where they impersonate law enforcement officials and threaten legal action. To avoid accidentally divulging personal details, it’s best to ignore these calls completely. Just as the IRS doesn’t initially contact taxpayers by email, they also don’t initiate official communication by phone either.

Refund Theft

This type of scam takes place at the intersection of identity theft and financial fraud. Using a variety of tactics, criminals obtain taxpayer social security numbers and file fraudulent tax returns in their name—often claiming substantial refunds. Since this happens without the knowledge of the victim, it only comes to light when their legitimate tax return is rejected due to a previous return already filed under the same social security number. While the IRS is committed to resolving these issues when they happen, the process can be long and tedious. To safeguard yourself against tax refund theft, IRS officials recommend obtaining an Identity Protection PIN, also known as an IP PIN. Instructions for securing a PIN can be found on the official IRS website.

Shady Tax Prep Services

Since an estimated 79 million Americans use paid tax preparation services, there are considerable opportunities for dishonest preparers to abuse the system. One of the most common scams involves a preparer illegally inflating an individual’s refund and collecting a percentage of the taxpayer’s refund instead of a flat fee. Many times, the problem isn’t identified until after the refund has been issued and the preparer’s fee has been collected. In these scams, the preparer is long gone by the time that the problem is identified, and the taxpayer is responsible for handling the audit on their own. While the practice of a tax preparer charging a percentage of refund isn’t technically illegal, you’re better off avoiding this type of arrangement and opting for a flat-fee service instead.

Public Wi-Fi Scammers

It seems like this one should go without saying, but we could all use a reminder from time to time. The public Wi-Fi at coffee shops, libraries, and bookstores can be great for hopping online to browse social media, but it’s terrible for filing your taxes. Not only can these unsecured networks be accessed by almost anyone, but dishonest scammers can also set up hot spots that look like the establishment’s Wi-Fi and intercept logins, passwords, and personal information. So, if you’re filing taxes electronically this year (and considering the fact that approximately 90% of taxpayers filed electronically in 2018, you probably are), do yourself a favor: file at home from your personal computer and your secure Internet connection.

As with most financial scams, these can be simple to sidestep as long as you know the signs to look for. If you observe questionable practices, want to read up more on tax season scams, or have additional tax-related concerns, you can find more information and helpful instructions here on the official IRS website.

If you are receiving a federal or state tax refund this year and want to make the most of your money, contact us here at First Financial Federal Credit Union. Our financial specialists can help you assess your financial situation and show you all the beneficial programs and products available to you as a credit union member. Call, email, or stop by a branch today!