The other day, one of our tax professionals heard from a long-time client who had just been targeted by a tax scam.
The taxpayer had received a phone call earlier that day from a person purporting to be with the IRS and claiming that he owed an additional $1,245.95 on his 2008 federal return.
He was instructed by the caller to send in a money order for the amount to a post office box in Toledo, Ohio. Failure to do so, the caller threatened, would result in his arrest by state police and jail time in a federal prison.
We quickly put our client at ease by pointing out the holes in the caller's story, and verifying that his 2008 return was indeed accurate. We also sent him the IRS's newly released "dirty dozen" list of tax scams for 2014, which you can read here. Not surprisingly, identity theft and phone scams top this year's list.
We urge you to beware of phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure, not only at tax time but throughout the entire year.
If you receive a phone call, fax, email or letter in the mail from an individual claiming to be from the IRS but you suspect isn't an IRS employee, please let us know. We can help you determine whether or not the IRS has a legitimate need to contact you.