Avoid IRS Scams

The end of the year is fast approaching, and many of us will be filing our taxes as soon as possible.  Before you get busy with the holidays and swept up in working on your taxes, you should know about a few IRS scams that you will want to avoid.

First of all, the IRS never, ever will contact you and ask for your Social Security number or bank account information by email or over the phone.  Be immediately suspicious if anyone contacts you and asks for this information, even if they say they are from the IRS.

Be suspicious of any emails that say they are from the Internal Revenue Service.  It may have subject line that says something like "tax notification" or "refund" information.  They will suggest that you go to an IRS website, and the website may even look authentic and ask that you submit your bank account information so that they can "deposit" your refund.  However, there is no refund.  They are trying to steal your account information.  Do not be fooled.  The IRS will not contact you by email.  It will mail you a letter if they want to contact you. The only time they ask for bank information is in your actual tax return.

In general, be suspicious if anyone sends you an email and says they represent the IRS.  If you receive a phone call and think it may be legitimate, call the IRS yourself at the number printed in your phone book or given to you by an information operator.  Never give out personal information to a stranger calling you on the phone or sending you an email.  The scammers are hard at work trying to trick you.  Don't fall for it.

You may also be interested in reading:

Dangerous Election Scams
The PayPal Scam
Credit Fraud and Identity Theft During Your Vacation
Online Dating Scams

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com

Biggest Tax Fraud in Oregon

One form of lying is when someone intentionally plans and executes a scam.  Most of the time, the victims of scams are individuals.  However, because of weak IRS policies and the policies of state taxing authorities, more and more people are attempting to cheat the government.

One such case is that of Krystle Marie Reyes of Salem, Oregon who committed the largest case of tax fraud in the history of Oregon.  Ms. Reyes cheated the taxpayers of Oregon out of over $2 million by using Turbo Tax software to file a false tax return.  Using the tax software, she calmly and fraudulently claimed that she had earned $3 million in wages, and was therefore entitled to $2.1 million in refunds.  Without checking the validity of her income statement, the state loaded a Visa debit card with the refund amount, and sent it to her in April, 2012.

Unfortunately for Ms. Reyes, she reported that another debit card had been lost or stolen, and the subsequent police report brought the case to the attention of the state's revenue service.  When she was arrested on June 6, 2012, she had already spent approximately $150,000 in two months.

This case is raising concerns for the Federal government.  The IRS also issues some refunds via debit cards when the taxpayer does not have a bank account.  Now authorities are becoming concerned that the IRS will send these debit cards to scammers, exactly like what happened in Oregon.  In fact, according to a CNN report dated March 20, 2012, "the IRS could not provide an estimate of how much fraudulent refund money it has issued."  In other words, they may have already sent millions of dollars to people who were committing tax fraud.

Now that the federal and state governments have been alerted to the problem, potential tax scammers should not assume they can duplicate the actions of Ms. Reyes.  The IRS and state taxing authorities are putting in place filters to prevent this from ever happening again.  Undoubtedly, once the case comes to trial, the consequences for Ms. Reyes will be severe.

You are reading from the blog:  http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/

Photo of federal seal courtesy of www.wikipedia.com/commons