How To Stay Safe From IRS Scams
IRS scams are not something new that’s been happening within the confines of society and at the same time, it’s not as irrelevant as most people would like to think it to be. There are loads of scammers calling up good, honest, people like you and me, feigning to be agents of the IRS and scamming some people out of their money.
The most common MOs of IRS scams is to, of course, call up and pretend to be an IRS officer, going about their business collecting any unpaid taxes from citizens. This type of scam has been widely covered by the media and lots of people are more aware of such a scam.
However, there is also a second way that these deceitful scammers can use the IRS as a pawn to steal all your money. And that, is by filing your tax returns for you, before you even get a chance to do so. Such scams are made possible by expert scammers who re-create the official IRS websites, and fool people into entering their private data on their scam site. With minor tweaks, they would be able to file for returns in the current year and intercept any money that the IRS should pay to you.
These scams are unavoidable and you’ll never know when you’d be the next target of these shady IRS scammers. However, you can ensure that your private data is safe with just a few simple steps.
5 Reasons to stay Safe from IRS Scams
#1 Don’t Pick Up Unknown Calls
Unknown calls are usually scam calls, let’s just leave it at that. Merely picking up the phone can allow these scammers access into your phone’s database, leaving your information open to be accessed by such scammers. Data from your phone’s browser, namely, which is the tool most people do their tax filings on and it may have traces of your personal and tax stored away in its cache. Should this data get into the hands of scammers, they can re-create your tax filing entries and file for your returns to be banked into their own bank accounts.
#2 File Your Taxes ASAP
Well, this is a straightforward one. If you jump ahead and file your taxes early, there is a lower chance of you being a target of such scammers. These scammers can gain unauthorized access IRS servers to see a list of early bird taxpayers and those who are always submitting their taxes right before the deadline. So, to avoid being the next one on their list, do your tax returns as soon as you get the chance to.
#3 Check Your URLs
Some scammers take painstaking efforts to re-create the IRS website in order to be able to fool hard-working taxpayers into giving up their financial and personal tax information. Always ensure that you are on a secure site and that the site is the official IRS site before you enter any of your personal details or send a submission for your tax returns. URLs can easily help you spot a scam IRS website, so watch out!
#4 Don’t Click On Shady Links
As the tax return submission deadline looms, the IRS will always send a kind reminder to all taxpayers to file for their returns in the soonest, lest they miss it. However, this email has also been a way for scammers to lead you to their fake IRS website to steal your data. A shady link within the email is the red-flag that you need to look for. And if the URL does not match the domain of the official IRS site, chances are that your email is from an IRS scammer.
Keeping to these preventive measures would definitely keep your tax returns safe from IRS scammers. And if you suspect that you have received a fraudulent email from an IRS scammer, run it through our Email Lookup search and see where the email is coming from.
Disclaimer:
The above is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute a legal advice or specific recommendations in any way.
