Tax Season

Hey everyone! Guess what! It’s everyone’s favorite season… TAX SEASON! Ahhh, tax season. It may not have a signature latte flavor, but it does have ….uhhh ….math?

Here are some facts relating to Tax Scams:Rising Incidents of Tax-Related Identity Theft According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), there were over 1.4 million reports of identity theft in 2020, with tax-related identity theft accounting for a significant portion of these cases. Increase in Phishing Attempts: The IRS reported a surge in phishing attempts during tax season, with a 60% increase in 2021 compared to the previous year. Impersonation Scams and Robocalls: The IRS has witnessed a substantial rise in impersonation scams, where fraudsters pose as IRS agents to intimidate taxpayers into paying fictitious tax bills. In 2020, the IRS received over 600,000 complaints about scam calls, with losses exceeding $62 million. Prevalence of Fraudulent Tax Preparation Services: The Better Business Bureau (BBB) reported an increase in complaints related to fraudulent tax preparation services, emphasizing the need for due diligence when selecting a tax professional. In 2021, there were over 2,500 complaints filed against tax preparation businesses, highlighting the risk of falling victim to unscrupulous practices.

For more information on how to stay safe this tax season, click on the links:

Now... The IRS doesn’t have the best reputation, but they do have one thing going for them…

Okay, so tax season isn’t anyone’s favorite. But you know what, that’s okay because it means I won’t sound like a gigantic killjoy when I tell you that it’s also IRS scam season. See? Lemons into lemonade. Filing your taxes requires a ton of personal information, which makes it an attractive premise for cybercriminals to use for phishing or vishing.In these social engineering scams, a cybercriminal will contact you (pretending to be the IRS) and ask you for personal information, usually to “resolve an issue” with your tax information. They might even throw around threats of legal action as a (fake) consequence of not cooperating.

They’ll never call you up and threaten to put you in prison for not immediately forking over your life savings. Remember that if you get a phone call from an IRS phony this tax season. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll ever get a phone call or email from the IRS. Generally speaking, they’ll reach out with an official letter snail-mail style. If you do owe them money, they’ll always give you at least a couple of weeks to pay and offer an avenue for appealing the debt. Urgency, threats of punishment, and lack of paperwork are tell-tale signs that the IRS agent on the other line is actually a cybercriminal.

So remember folks, if someone claiming to be from the IRS insists on payment in Bitcoin or gift cards, it's probably not Uncle Sam – he's more of a traditional cash kind of guy. So, this tax season, let's outsmart the scammers and leave them with more confusion than they left us with tax forms!"