It Does Not Hurt to be Careful
Although it has been said before, saying it again would not hurt. The IRS will never solicit your personal financial information through email. Did you know there are some 1,300 websites that use the IRS logo or documents to obtain credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and other personal details? Do not entertain emails that may contain such logos or attachments that look like IRS documents in your inbox. Other means of transmission to try to get your financial details include phone calls and faxes.
Of late here are some fraudulent methods:
1. Scammers ask you for your information apparently to give you a lump sum tax refund under the Make Your Work Pay scheme. This is fraudulent because under the scheme, there is no lump sum payment involved. Instead, the government just adjusts your withholding tax limit to give you more money back.
2. You receive a check for your 'winnings' in a Lotto draw or 'inheritance' of some sort and you are required to wire back 10% of your windfall as tax payment. Once you do so, your financial details can be traced and you will find that the check received will bounce. And you won't be able to retrieve the money you wired away, either.
3. You are asked to submit your information to obtain a tax refund. In reality, whatever tax refund due to you comes from the information you filed in your tax return in the first place. You would never be required to submit fresh information.
Other things to watch out for would be typos in the correspondences and threats if the request for your information is not met.
Email scams asking for personal information are very common, especially those that use government agencies as a cover. The more sophisticated ones may seem very legitimate. And scams using the IRS as a front are particularly common because most people would respond to the IRS in order to stay on the right side of the tax laws and especially when tax season is just coming to an end.
So if you receive a suspicious email or phone call supposedly from the IRS, you should report it by emailing phishing@irs.gov or calling the IRS hotline at 1-800-829-1040. And if you think you have already had your personal financial information breached, call the IRS identity protection hotline at 1-800-908-4490.
Darrin T. Mish is a veteran, nationally recognized tax attorney who has focused on providing IRS help to taxpayers for over a decade. He regularly travels the country training other attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents on how to handle their toughest cases with the IRS. He is highly ranked among the top attorneys in the country, with an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a perfect 10 on Avvo.com. Martindale-Hubbell has also honored him with a listing in their Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. With clients on every continent but Antarctica, he has what it takes to solve your IRS problems no matter where you live in the world. If you would like more information about his practice and how he can help you, please call his office at (813) 229-7100 or toll free at 1-888-GET-MISH.
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