{"id":8697,"date":"2017-03-09T15:00:27","date_gmt":"2017-03-09T20:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/?p=8697"},"modified":"2017-03-09T17:57:32","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T22:57:32","slug":"scammers-posing-irs-agents-take-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/scammers-posing-irs-agents-take-money\/","title":{"rendered":"Scammers Are Posing as IRS Agents to Take Your Money"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re familiar with all the ways online scammers plot to take your money, you won\u2019t be too surprised that they also venture into tax scams. While many tax scams aren\u2019t sophisticated, some are often believable and convincing. It\u2019s important to make sure that you never fall victim to a tax scam. Learn how to spot certain tax scams and protect yourself with these four examples of common online tax scams.<\/span><\/p>\n

Phishing Emails<\/b><\/p>\n

In a phishing email scam, the scammer will pretend to be an IRS agent. In this type of scam, the scammers usually want to retrieve your personal information, particularly your Social Security number, to steal your money.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More: <\/b>Scams: What to Look For and How to Stay Protected<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

To spot this scam, look for unexpected bills or refunds. The IRS will not email you randomly, either, so if you receive an email allegedly from the IRS, it\u2019s better to not even open it. Best option: don\u2019t give out your credit card number or social security number via email. Secure websites are the only safe way to share information safely online.<\/p>\n

Fake Tax Preparers<\/b><\/p>\n

Either using online or in-person methods, fake tax preparers prey on victims to steal their money or information. Once these fake \u201cprofessionals\u201d make a connection with a client, they then charge exorbitant fees for their services, as well as directing the victim\u2019s tax refund into their own accounts. How do you stay away from this scam? Search for your tax preparer in the Federal Tax Return Preparer directory to see if he or she is credentialed to prepare taxes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Offshore Financial Accounts<\/b><\/p>\n

Some people really do have offshore accounts, but they likely don\u2019t receive scam offers to open these bank accounts online. This scam is an email about an offshore account that lets you \u201chide\u201d your money. Don\u2019t ever go for this scam. Whether real or fraudulent, hiding money in offshore accounts will get you in trouble with the IRS. If you\u2019re scammed, too, you might never see your money again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Large Refund Promises<\/b><\/p>\n

Scammers also lure victims into their schemes by promising larger refunds than they\u2019re owed. Scammers that operate these false operations find their victims in several ways. When they tell you they can get you a larger refund, they then request for you to sign a blank tax return. Don\u2019t do it. If someone says he or she can estimate your taxes instantly, you\u2019re looking at a sure sign of a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With all the ways scammers try to rip you off online, it only makes sense that they perpetrate fake Internet tax scams as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[53,249],"class_list":["post-8697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-security","tag-internet","tag-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8697\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psafe.com\/en\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}