No Vacation for Tax Scammers

Just because tax season is over does not mean we are free from identity thieves and tax scammers. They continue to prey on unsuspecting taxpayers by impersonating the IRS in emails and telephone calls. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reports there have been more than 6,700 victims who have collectively lost over $38 million to tax scams.

The IRS warns taxpayers to remain alert, and has provided several tips to help you avoid becoming a victim of scammers.

Scammers will try to scare you. Aggressive scammers try to frighten people into making an immediate payment by making threats, often threatening arrest or deportation. Or they say they'll take away your driver's or professional license if you don't pay. They may also leave "urgent" callback requests, sometimes through automated robocalls.
Scammers can fake legitimate caller ID. Scammers can alter caller ID to make it look like the IRS or another real agency is calling. The callers use IRS titles and fake badge numbers to appear legitimate. They may use online resources to get your name, address and other details about your life to make the call sound official.
Scammers use phishing email and regular mail. Scammers copy official IRS letterhead to use in email or regular mail they send to victims. In another new variation, schemers provide an actual IRS address where they tell the victim to mail a receipt for the payment they make. This makes the scheme look official. Emails will often contain a fake IRS document with a phone number or an email address for you to reply.

Keep in mind that the real IRS will not:

Call you about your tax bill without first sending you a bill in the mail.
Demand that you pay taxes and not allow you to question or appeal the amount that you owe.
Require that you pay your taxes a certain way. For instance, require that you pay with a prepaid debit card or any specific type of tender.
Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
Threaten to bring in police or other agencies to arrest you for not paying.
Threaten you with a lawsuit.

If you think you've been contacted by a tax scammer, take the following steps:

Do not provide any information to the caller. Hang up immediately.
Use the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration's IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting web page to report the incident.
You should also report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the FTC Complaint Assistant on FTC.gov. Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" in the notes.

For more information on tax scams or any other tax topic, please contact Gray, Gray & Gray's Tax Department at (781) 407-0300.

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The information contained in this communication (including any attachments and/or re-directs to other online sources) is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code.