You could make an entire blog dedicated to how many tax scams are there. Today we will be talking about just a few of these and how to avoid them.
W-2 FORM FRAUD
There a few of these. Sometimes it takes the form of misleading or untrue information on how to get a larger refund, leading to filers reporting inflated incomes and withholding figures on their forms. This is tax fraud. Lying about your tax figures will result in, at best, severe fines, or maybe other criminal punishments like prison time.
Other times criminals try to to steal W-2 information from businesses and payroll companies to steal returns. Spear phishing is a type of cyberattack in which a highly personalized fake message is sent to trick a person or organization into giving up intimate information. Scammers may try to trick tax professionals by pretending to be new clients. The scammers may attack a malicious attachment or URL that, when clicked, will give the scammer access to the computer's systems and information stored.
There are a few signs to look for. Always be wary of suspicious behaviors or strange requests. Bad grammar or spelling errors could be a sign of a fake. Be sure that the person is who they say they are by checking their email and/or name. And do not click on any attachments or links if you cannot confirm they are safe.
UNCLAIMED TAX REFUND
Scammers are prone to steal sensitive information. They may send a letter claiming to be an IRS agent, and then proceed to ask for identifying information, like pictures of your driver's license, or your social security number. The point of this con is to steal the victim's return.
Warning signs for this kind of con may include a few things. Government organizations have certain standards on how they are suppose to write, so if yo see awkwardly written requests, or inconsistent font, and other grammatical mistakes. It is also useful to know that the IRS never contacts taxpayers through email, text, or social media about tax refunds. You should also be skeptical of similar messages that appear to come from friends or loved ones, since scammers may have stolen or compromised their email or text accounts.
SOCIAL MEDIA ADVICE AND SCAMS
It can be said that social media has not always been the best source of information. There are a lot of ways taking tax advice on social media can go wrong. One of the simplest way is misinformation. People will post with about things with complete confidence even if they are completely wrong. From falsifying a W-2 form to misunderstanding how more obscure tax documents, the internet is filled with people who think they know more than they actually do.
There is no magical way to massively increase your tax return. If something sounds too good to be true, it is. There are a lot of good places to look or information. For example, there is @irsnews on social media, you could go to www.irs.gov, the official IRS website, which is filled with official information on how taxes work, or you could go to a legitimate tax professional for answers.
DISHONEST TAX PREPARERS
Naturally, scammers may pretend to be legitimate tax preparers. People who need a tax preparer, by necessity, need to trust them with incredibly vital information that, if compromised, could lead to disastrous consequences for the victims. Naturally, scammers may try to impersonate a preparer in order to gain access to this information. Alternative, you may have a "ghost preparer", someone who does not sign the tax returns they prepare. They do this to avoid accountability for overpricing their clients for benefits they will not actually provide.
We recommend the following when selecting a tax preparer. Look for a preparer who is available year-round. Review the history of the individual or organization in the Better Business Bureau, to see if they have caused problems in the past or have the licenses necessary to do their job. Make sure the preparer offers IRS e-file, which greatly hastens the time in which you may receive your return. Look over the credentials of the preparer. Never sign an incomplete return. And finally, review the tax return before signing it and ask questions to make sure everything is accurate.
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