Tax season is coming, at least in the United States, and while it’s not the most exciting time of the year, it’s important nonetheless. Hackers know this, too, so you might get some unsolicited text messages or emails claiming to be the Internal Revenue Service. Today, we want to highlight the importance of awareness this tax season, and what you should anticipate over the next couple of months.
Tax Season is Open Season
Tax returns are always exciting for the average citizen, as they might get a payout at the end of the process, and as such, there are plenty of scams out there that might get in the way of enjoying those refunds.
Here are some of the most well-known scams:
- Spoofed/robocalls meant to seem as though the IRS is calling.
- Text messages alerting of “urgent” issues with links to resolve them
- Phishing emails with similar messages
There are, of course, more—including what the IRS has deemed the Dirty Dozen. Scammers are remarkably creative in the way they approach their schemes, ranging from fake charities to misinformation and even fraudulent IT support.
That said, there are some warning signs you can spot if you’re paying attention to the language used in these communications:
- Like many other scam attempts, there will commonly be the promise of a big financial reward for complying with the scammers’ demands.
- Alternatively, these scams may threaten severe consequences to scare targets into compliance.
- Scam messages commonly include links with odd or incorrect spelling to take targets to malicious websites.
When In Doubt, Check Your Mail
Naturally, this problem is so prevalent that the IRS has published a guide on how to tell when a message from the IRS is legitimate. In this guide, the IRS states that they will reach out to taxpayers by the U.S. Postal Service, and all letters are searchable on their official website. They may occasionally use other means of contact, like phone or email, but they’ll usually require the taxpayer’s permission to do so.
Basically, if you haven’t given the IRS permission to contact you outside of mail, it’s probably not the IRS, and you should contact the agency if you suspect foul play.
Don’t Expect the IRS To Do This
- Reach out via social media
- Accept gift or prepaid debit cards as payment
- Threaten you with law or immigration enforcement
- Revoke licensing, including citizenship, driver’s, or business
- Leave robocall voicemails
- Mail advertisements for debt resolution
The IRS offers additional ways to recognize tax scams and fraud, so we recommend you review these and share them with those who might get value out of them.
While taxes aren’t our cup of tea, we can help you shore up your cybersecurity to challenge hackers in other ways. Learn more by calling us today at (610) 683-6883.