AVOID TAX SCAMS WITH VIGILANCE AND COMMON SENSE.
Scammers have targeted US taxpayers for decades with various schemes, often times posing as the Internal Revenue Service to secure private information from tax payers. The intent of the scammer is to convince the victim to volunteer personal information , such as Social Security numbers and bank account access. They accomplish this by convincing the victim that the IRS needs to "verify" their information, often attempting to use intimidation and fear to trick people into volunteering sensitive information in the process. These scams can be perpetrated over the telephone, through email "phishing", and direct mail to name a few.

If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• The IRS will never call you and demand immediate payment over the phone. They will not ask you for credit card numbers over the phone. In fact, the IRS won't call you at all before first mailing you an official statement.
• The IRS will never require you to pay outstanding taxes without first giving you the opportunity to appeal the amount they claim you owe.
• The IRS does not specify form of payment (i.e pre-paid debit card)

Email "phishing" scams attempt to direct the victim to an official looking website which is actually a scam page where they are asked to enter personal or financial information. These emails can appear to be from the IRS or tax professional, but are in truth a tool scammers use to obtain personal information or even load malware onto the victim's computer. The IRS has reported a 400% increase in email phishing scam activity so far this tax season, which also includes other electronic forms of communications such as text messaging. If you receive a suspicious email or text that appears to be from the IRS or your tax professional , it is recommended that you NOT open it and forward it immediately to phishing@irs.gov.

For more information about reported tax scams and how to avoid them, click here to visit the IRS website.