As millions of Americans prepare their tax returns, crooks are also at work posing as the IRS. The tax season is normally a time when crooks are active in trying to pry your personal financial information from you. Identity thieves can use such information to drain a victim’s financial accounts and run up charges on credit cards in the victim’s name.
The come-on: A con artist calls prospective victims and tells them that they are eligible for large rebates for filing their taxes early; they just need to share their bank account numbers. If they refuse, the crook tells them they can’t receive the rebates.
The real deal: The IRS does not gather information by phone. Taxpayers who choose can have their refunds deposited directly into their bank accounts – but only if they provide account numbers when filing their tax returns.
The new rebate program to stimulate the economy has brought out new scams.
The IRS will send out checks to 130 million households, including more than 20 million low-income older Americans. The checks go out automatically to those who have filed a 1040 or 1040A tax return for 2007.
The elderly are especially at risk, they may not be aware of the scams going on and may be more willing to trust someone if crooks are convincing and sound sincere.
But the M.O. is always the same. The crook must some how get the information from you. You need to be alert to their operation and never give out your personal information to anyone either on the phone or via e-mail, never no exceptions!
The IRS or any bank organization will never ask you for your personal information either over the phone or in an email.
The IRS has identified other types of scams:
Refund e-Mail:
Bogus e-mails falsely claiming to be from the IRS tell recipients they are eligible for tax refunds in specific amounts, if they click on a link within the e-mail to access a refund claim form. The form then asks for personal or financial information.
Audit e-Mail:
The come-on: An e-mail tells recipients (who might even be addressed by name) that their tax returns will be audited and instructs them to click on links and enter personal information.
The real deal: The IRS does not send unsolicited e-mails to taxpayers.
Changes to tax law e-mail:
The come-on: E-mails are sent to businesses and accountants instructing them to download information on tax changes.
The real deal: Recipients could be unknowingly downloading malware onto their computers, which could provide con artists with access to those computers and the ability to extract sensitive information for fraudulent purposes.
The only legitimate IRS web addresses begin with http://www.irs.gov. Anyone receiving a questionable e-mail claiming to be from the IRS can forward it to a mailbox set up by the IRS: phishing@irs.gov.
The author is the owner of www.ProsperingYou.com were more personal finance information like this is available.
Filed under: personal finance
[...] vdqantonia wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt As millions of Americans prepare their tax returns, crooks are also at work posing as the IRS. The tax season is normally a time when crooks are active in trying to pry your personal financial information from you. Identity thieves can use such information to drain a victim’s financial accounts and run up charges on credit cards in the victim’s name. The come-on: A con artist calls prospective victims and tells them that they are eligible for large rebates for filing their taxes early; they just need to share their bank account numbers. If they refuse, the crook tells them they can’t receive the rebates. The real deal: The IRS does not gather information by phone. Taxpayers who choose can have their refunds deposited directly into their bank accounts – but only if they provide account numbers when filing their tax returns. The new rebate program to stimulate the economy has brought out […] [...]