After 32 years of IRS work — and more than $100 million in resolved tax debt — I've seen just about every version of the problem you're dealing with. I'm Darrin Mish, a tax attorney in Tampa. Here's what you should know.
Although it has been said many times before, it is worth saying again – beware of scams that attempt to steal your tax information. These scams mainly come to you through an email that contains a link or an attachment. When you click the link or open the attachment, you are fed with some cock and bull story claiming that you have some problem with your taxes and requesting you to submit your tax information. Here is where the scammer tries to phish information like your Social Security number, Driver’s License and other details.
Recently, there has been an email scam just like the one described above being sent to thousands of taxpayers. The modus operandi is very subtle. The taxpayer receives an email purportedly saying that his tax payments made through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System have been rejected. Then the taxpayer is asked to click on a link, which leads to a download of software that solicits the personal information of the taxpayer.
According to IRS spokesperson Jennifer Jenkins, a visitor to the IRS website left a comment about this scam and thus alerted the agency. Jenkins reiterated that you should report any emails supposedly from the IRS to [email protected] and then delete the emails.
Jenkins said, “The IRS doesn’t send unsolicited emails to taxpayers about their tax accounts and doesn’t communicate payment information through email.”
According to the FTC, such scams are all too common. In fact, the government states that identity theft has increased five-fold over the last five years. Those who have been victimized the most are people between the ages of 20 and 29.
Usually, the scammers use the victim’s Social Security numbers and a false address to commit fraudulent acts like claim tax refunds. Jon Miller Steiger, director of the FTC’s east-central region said, “(Phishing) is something that is very easy to set up. You send an email that looks convincing, and you put a link in it that you hope consumers will click on.” Scammers these days also use images from government agencies and other websites to make their emails appear genuine.
Recently, three victims of identity theft appeared and gave their testimonies before a Congressional sub-committee that led to the IRS Commissioner, Doug Shulman making an apology for the agency’s poor record of combating this menace.
The IRS is in the initial stages of implementing a six-digit PIN number system for taxpayers to file their tax returns, which hopefully will address this problem.
If you suspect tax identity theft, call the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit at 1-800-908-4490.
Check out more Tax News stories by clicking that link.