Tax scams, identity theft, and fraud schemes to watch out for — how they work, how to spot them, and how to protect yourself.
Identity theft continues to plague Americans. With the click of a mouse, your entire life can be turned upside down. And it can all start out with something as simple as handing out your Social Security number at the doctor’s office…
With the IRS shut down, scammers are taking the opportunity to ramp up operations. Here’s what to be on the lookout for…
Each year, the Internal Revenue Service issues a list of “Dirty Dozen” tax scams that can affect taxpayers. The list runs the gamut from schemes involving taxpayer participation (hiding offshore income) to schemes that taxpayers may know nothing about (identity theft). The IRS posts the list to educate taxpayers about the need to protect financial…
Ugh.Now that tax season is in full swing, the spammers and schemers are out in force. I received four emails today alone purporting to be from the Internal Revenue Service, all of which were spam. Most of them were rehashed emails (of the “canceled by your banking institution” variety, asking for new banking information). One,…
Today, the IRS announced the results of an “aggressive enforcement effort” targeting refund fraud caused by identity theft.
It’s not just the goblins and ghouls that you have to worry about this month. It’s the real bad guys: scammers and thieves. Just this week, the IRS issued another warning about tax scams. This one – a new one – uses a website that mimics the IRS e-Services online registration page. The real IRS…
If you’re like me, you got slammed today with bogus emails claiming to be from the IRS. Most were the run of the mill “Federal tax transaction rejected” variety – like the ones from before. A few, however, were a bit more sophisticated. This one, in particular, caught my eye: Dear business owners, Due to…
How appropriate that after yesterday’s post on e-bills I received not one – but nine – scam emails purporting to be from IRS. Apparently, those scammers are making yet another effort to cheat taxpayers, hoping for short memories. Don’t fall for it. The subject headers all have some variation of “Your federal tax transaction” or…
Scammers are continuing to target tax professionals. This morning, I received three of these rather authentic warnings ostensibly from the AICPA. The text (in case you can’t make it out) says: Cancellation of Public Account Status due to income tax fraud allegations Valued accountant officer, We have received a complaint about your recent involvement in…
On the afternoon of October 24, 2011, Hillsborough County (Tampa, FL) sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of shots fired between two housing duplexes. They found Michael Massaline on the ground; Massaline later died at the hospital from his injuries. He had been shot twice in the upper body. Two weeks later, deputies announced the…
