Two New Tax Scams to Watch Out For

Two New Tax Scams to Watch Out For 

Tax scammers have been duping taxpayers through a variety of scam tactics such as fraudulent emails that mirror an IRS communication, pretending to be IRS agents over the phone, and sending mails through post that intend to steal personal information. Scammers keep generating new ways to deceive when their old ways become known. 

Along with taxpayers, tax professionals are also targeted by scammers. More and more tax professionals are faced with fake payroll direct deposits and wire transfer emails that seem legitimate but aren’t. 

The best way to stay safe from tax scams is to keep yourself informed about the latest ways scammers are using to steal. Daily Miner shares the two new scams to watch out for:

“Taxpayers should be on the lookout for new versions of scams, the Internal Revenue Service warns. With scam artists hard at work all year, people should expect a surge of evolving phishing emails and telephone scams. 

Taxpayers should watch for new versions of two tax-related scams. 

One involves Social Security numbers related to tax issues. The latest twist includes scammers claiming to be able to suspend or cancel the victim’s Social Security number. This scam is similar to and often associated with the IRS impersonation scam. It is yet another attempt by con artists to frighten taxpayers into returning robocall voicemails. Scammers may mention overdue taxes in addition to threatening to cancel the taxpayer’s SSN. 

The fake tax agency scam threatens taxpayers with a tax bill from a fictional government agency. This scheme involves a letter threatening an IRS lien or levy. The scammer mails the letter to the taxpayer. The fake agency is called the ‘Bureau of Tax Enforcement’ (there is no such agency). The lien or levy is based on bogus overdue taxes owed to a nonexistent agency. The lien notification scam will also likely reference the IRS to confuse potential victims into thinking the letter is from a legitimate agency. 

Both these schemes show classic signs of being scams. 

The IRS and its Security Summit partners — the state tax agencies and the tax industry — remind everyone to stay alert to scams that use the IRS or reference taxes. Being alert is especially important in late spring and early summer as tax bills and refunds arrive.”