5 Tips to Protect Yourself from Tax Season Scams
Tax season is usually a busy time for everyone: filers, tax preparers – and cybercriminals looking for new ways to steal your identity, information and money. Here are five tips that may help protect you from tax fraud schemes this year:
Beware of scam e-mails, text and phone calls.
Scammers are posing as tax preparers or employees of the IRS, and using advanced technology to generate convincing phishing campaigns. Remember, the IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information.
Use a reputable tax preparer.
Choose an experienced tax preparer who has a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) and is willing to sign your tax return.
Before sending documents to your tax preparer, encrypt them
Before sending documents to your tax preparer, encrypt them with a password that only you and your tax preparer know.
Get an Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN).
Contact the IRS to obtain a six-digit number, which you can use to verify your identity when you file your taxes. Only you and the IRS will have access to your IP PIN.
Take immediate action if you suspect that you’re the victim of tax-related fraud.
Call the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit as soon as possible, and visit IdentityTheft.gov to report an identity theft and get a recovery plan.
For additional information on tax season and identity theft scams, please visit the IRS’ Identity Theft portal.
