MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Dave Thompson sees it every year. People show up to get their taxes prepared and find out that someone else has already filed a return in their name.
But it hasn’t happened as often this year, despite more people showing up for tax service.
“That’s a good sign, I think,” Thompson said.
Tax fraud and identity theft are still happening on a wide scale, but a number of new safeguards - including one that delayed refunds this year until February - seem to be putting a dent in the problem. The number of people who reported identity fraud to the IRS dropped by 46 percent in 2016, according to the agency. This year the IRS had blocked 631,000 potentially fraudulent tax returns through March 22.
That’s driven scammers toward new tactics that play off the increased layers of security. One of the most popular targets tax preparers.
Last week, the IRS warned of a surge in phony emails with subject lines like “e-Service Account is Blocked” that try to dupe tax professionals into turning over their log-in credentials.
The problem is that it’s harder to trick tax preparers. So criminals have also kept up their old standby schemes, like calling or emailing taxpayers, claiming to represent the IRS, and demanding money or information. Those types of scams tend to ramp up in the final stretch of the tax season, and with April 18 filing deadline just over a week away, there’s expected to be a surge of them in the days ahead.
Thompson runs the IRS-authorized tax preparation service at Alabama State University, one of three free tax service programs in the Montgomery area. He warned people to be wary of contact by someone claiming to represent the IRS.
“The IRS doesn’t do business that way,” he said.
Here’s how those calls usually play out, according to the IRS.
Callers claim to be employees of the IRS, using fake names and bogus IRS identification badge numbers. They may know a lot about their targets, and they usually alter the caller ID to make it look like the IRS is calling.
Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. Victims may be threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting. Or, victims may be told they have a refund due to try to trick them into sharing private information. If the phone isn’t answered, the scammers often leave an “urgent” callback request.
If you get a call like that, hang up immediately. You can report it by calling the office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484.
You can forward suspicious-looking emails to phishing@irs.gov. Don’t open an attachment or link inside the email.
If you have questions or need help, you can go to IRS.gov or call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. The agency plans to extend its customer service hours as the deadline approaches.
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Information from: Montgomery Advertiser, https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com
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