Author: Fundamental Advisory and Consulting, LLC
While we may all look forward to spring’s promise of warmer weather and blooming flowers, few look forward to its companion, tax season. As painful as taxes can be, there’s something that is far more painful: becoming the victim of fraud. Tax season provides the perfect conditions for fraud – it’s a stressful period of time, taxes are complicated and being on the receiving end of an enforcement action such as an audit or fines can be scary.
One method used to prey on people is the use of fraudulent phone calls that claim to be from the IRS.
The people making these calls will pose as IRS agents using fake credentials in an attempt to either steal your money or personal information that could be used to steal your identity. Often, these calls will be made to appear legitimate through caller ID spoofing or by using your own information against you to gain your confidence.
The fraudsters on the other end of the line will typically claim that you owe money to the IRS and attempt to recover this money through a wire transfer or even a gift card. They’ll try to scare you with a variety of penalties, and will become aggressive over the course of the call to heighten your fear.)
Don’t let them scare you into becoming the victim of fraud.
The IRS is not going to call you unexpectedly about taxes you owe and demand immediate payment. You will typically receive a paper bill for taxes due as the first outreach. What’s more, the IRS is not going to suddenly have police swoop in on your house to arrest you should you not agree to immediate payment. If you owe taxes, the IRS will provide you with the opportunity to question and/or appeal the amount owed.
Another form of fraud is to claim that you are owed a refund and that personal information is needed to process the refund. The IRS will not call you about a refund.
Even if you don’t answer the phone, the scammers may just leave you a voicemail.
So what should you do when you’re targeted?
- Make sure you write down the phone number and then hang up the phone.
- Report the fraud using this form provided by the government: https://www.tigta.gov/hotline?type=IRSScamsandFraud – or call 800-366-4484
- Email information about the call, including the phone number, to phishing@irs.gov and put “IRS Phone Scam” in the subject line.
These calls occur because they work.
Maybe not all of the time, but enough to make crime pay. If we all stay alert and pass along this information to our friends and family, perhaps we can bring an end to this type of fraud.