Here's why you should always ignore the threatening phone calls from "the IRS"
This is one of the oldest scams of the book!
Now that this tax season is officially over, you might find yourself to get a phone call or a voicemail of someone who claiming to be from the IRS, informing you that you have a case waiting for tax fraud against you And you must immediately recall avoid going to prison. If it happens to you, do not worry: it's just a scam and too much too common to that.
It happened to me back in 2014. I received a voicemail of an unknown number, informing me robotically that I had not tabled my taxes in 2008 and that I had to remind immediately or otherwise I would be stopped. I did not know much taxes at the time, so I panicked and called. When I asked the woman who called questions about how it happened, she continued to repeat the same thing, as if reading a script, which was my first sign that it might not be entirely legitimate.
Later, my accountant called me to make sure it was a scam and gave me very useful information that is not widely known: if you are audited by the IRS, they will never call you . Generally, if a taxpayer owes money, the IRS will send an official letter to your permanent address.
According to a post of March 6On the official website of the IRSThere were 12,716 victims who collectively paid more than $ 63 million as a result of telephone scams since October 2013. As was the case with me, the most common tactics consists of calling a taxpayer and threatening Stop or deport them if T immediately send money via a bank transfer or credit or debit card. Often, they will change the caller's identification numbers to make it look like the call from Washington D.c. or use IRS employee numbers and false badge numbers to look legitimate. They also often catch up with personal information that could easily be found online, such as your name and address, in order to appear credible.
While threatening to stop someone else is the most classic move, the website notes that fraudsters change tactics each year in an effort to get money from their victims.
"In a new torsion observed in recent weeks", the website reads as follows: "Identity thieves file fraudulent tax returns with reimbursements in the Taxpayers' Real's bank account, followed by a call telephone that tries to contain the money on the stairs. "
To help avoid scams, the IRS lists some points they would never do, including: "Threaten to immediately threaten to make a local police or other law enforcement groups so that the taxpayer is arrested for not paying. Require taxes to be paid without giving taxpayers the opportunity to call into question or appeal the amount due. Request credit or debit card numbers on the phone. Call yourself on an unexpected refund. "
InRecent reddit wireMany people who have received this type of call reported that they integrated with identity thieves even if they know it's a scam, just to call them. It's a bad idea. In the past,The crooks called people With the question "Can you hear me?" and recorded the person who answers "yes." The computer hacker can then potentially use the recording to tell you: "Yes", to make unauthorized charges in your name.
To protect you, the best action plan is not to recover or return the call. Then contact Tigta, use theirIRS Impersonation Scam Report Web page, or call 800-366-4484 to report the scam. You can also report the call to the Federal Commerce Commission using the "FTC complaint assistant"On FTC.GOV and put" the IRS telephone scam "in the notes. How always is the case with a scam, it's always a good idea to check your bank account with any suspicious activity and get a credit report.
And for more advice on the deposit of your taxes, seeThe 5 best ways to avoid being checked by the IRS.
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