Taxpayers should not fall for new tax scam tricks by IRS posers

Although the tax season is over, tax scammers work year-round. The Internal Revenue Service advises taxpayers to stay alert to protect themselves against new ways criminals trick them out of their money or personal information.

These scams first tried to sting older Americans, newly arrived immigrants and those who speak English as a second language. The offenders have expanded their net and now try to swindle virtually anyone.

Kenneth W. Rudzinski

Avoid scams

Here are several tips from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to help taxpayers avoid being a victim of these scams:

Scams use scare tactics. These aggressive and sophisticated scams try to scare taxpayers into making a false tax payment that ends up with the criminal. Many phone scams use threats to try to intimidate taxpayers so they will pay the scammers their money. The wrongdoers often threaten arrest or deportation, or that they will revoke the taxpayers’ licenses if they do not pay the requested amounts. They may also leave “urgent” callback requests, sometimes through “robo-calls” via phone or email. The emails will often contain a fake IRS document with a phone number or an email address for taxpayers to reply.

Scams use caller ID spoofing. Scammers often alter caller ID to make it look like the IRS or another agency is calling. The callers use IRS titles and fake badge numbers to appear legitimate. They may use online resources to obtain taxpayers’ names, addresses and other details about a taxpayer’s life to make the call sound official.

Scams use phishing email and regular mail. Scammers copy official IRS letterhead to utilize in email or regular mail sent to victims. In another new variation, schemers provide an actual IRS address where they tell taxpayers to mail a receipt for the payment they make. This is all in an attempt to make the scheme look official.

Scams cost victims more than $20 million. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) has received reports of about 600,000 contacts since October 2013. TIGTA is also aware of nearly 4,000 victims who have collectively reported more than $20 million in financial losses as a result of tax scams.

The real IRS

The real IRS will not:

call the taxpayer to demand immediate payment. The IRS will not call the taxpayer if he or she owes taxes without first sending the taxpayer a bill in the mail.
demand the taxpayer pays taxes and not allow the taxpayer to question or appeal the amount that he or she owes.
require the taxpayer pays his or her taxes a certain way. For instance, require that a taxpayer pay with a prepaid debit card.
ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest the taxpayer for not paying taxes.

If the taxpayer does not owe taxes or has no reason to think taxes are owed, the taxpayer:

must not provide any information to the caller. Hang up immediately.
contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Use TIGTA’s “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” website to report the incident.
should also report the offense to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on www.ftc.gov. The taxpayer should add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.

If the taxpayer knows that he or she owes taxes, or thinks he or she may owe taxes, then the taxpayer should call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help the taxpayer if he or she does owe taxes.

Reference:

IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2015-18, 8/12/2015. http://www.irs.gov/uac/Dont-Fall-for-New-Tax-Scam-Tricks-by-IRS-Posers

For more information:

Kenneth W. Rudzinski, CFP, CLU, ChFC, CRPC, CASL, CAP, is a registered representative of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. Securities and investment advisory services offered through Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp., a broker/dealer and a registered investment advisor. Member SIPC. Insurance offered through Lincoln affiliates and other fine companies and state variations thereof. Lincoln Financial Advisors does not provide tax or legal advice. Heritage Financial Consultants is not an affiliate of Lincoln Financial Advisors. CRN#: CRN-2230628-090418. Rudzinski can be reached at Kenneth.Rudzinski@LFG.com.