Tax scams, identity theft, and fraud schemes to watch out for — how they work, how to spot them, and how to protect yourself.
I just received an email with the subject line “Confidential Information” in my inbox. The attachment was a form which requested a long list of information including: Billing Address Social Security Number Mother’s Maiden Name Drivers License Social Security Number Phone Number Credit Card Number with Signature Panel Code and Expiration, plus PIN Bank Name…
The US Tax Court has received reports about an e-mail allegedly sent by a member of the Tax Court’s practitioner bar. This is NOT a legitimate email. If you do not have a case pending before the US Tax Court, the Court will not contact you via email. The Tax Court has advised that if…
Imagine this: You file your 2007 tax return just like normal. You get your economic stimulus check. And life goes on, right? What if, a few months later, you got a letter from the IRS asking you why you filed TWO tax returns for the same year? Using different addresses? Yep, that’s what happened to…
I just received the following email with the header “Get Tax Refund on your VISA or MasterCard Now!” in my email today: After the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of $135.50. Please submit the tax refund request and allow us 6-9…
The IRS wants you to understand that you’ll never actually see that message in a subject line from IRS. It’s the newest scam to target taxpayers. Taxpayers have reported the receipt of an email allegedly from “IRS Criminal Investigation” claiming that an investigation is underway for the filing of a false return or other complaint….
The IRS will never ask for information from you via an unsolicited email. Never. Ever. It’s important to keep this in mind. There has been a recent increase in scam emails claiming to be from IRS in an effort to obtain personal and financial information that could be used in identity theft cases. Many of…