It might not be tax season, but that doesn’t mean scammers aren’t working hard to steal your money! There has been a recent surge of phishing emails and telephone scams happening across the country. Taxpayers need to be aware of two new versions of tax-related scams. One involves your Social Security number while the other involves a fake tax bill. Here is what you need to know!
The new twist on the old Social Security scam is the scammers will now claim the ability to suspend or cancel your Social Security number. The scammer may impersonate someone from the IRS or from the Social Security department. You will receive a robocall voicemail claiming the IRS will suspend or cancel your Social if you don’t return their call and pay your bill. They may say you have overdue taxes or owe the government money and if you don’t pay they will cancel your Social Security Number. The scammers will ask you to verify personal information before demanding payment. It’s important that you don’t give any personal information out during this call. Your Social Security number cannot be suspended or canceled by the IRS.
This scam involves you getting a letter from a fake agency threatening you with either an IRS tax lien or a tax levy. The scammers mail you a letter to scare you into calling the fake agency and making a payment. The letter will lie and say you have overdue taxes and you need to make payment immediately to the “Bureau of Tax Enforcement”, an agency that does not exist. The letter you receive from the scammers will likely reference the IRS to confuse you into thinking it is legitimate and to trick you into paying the taxes. Taxpayers can easily be confused because the IRS also will mail out letters that give taxpayers notice about overdue taxes and if they are going to be levied or have a tax lien placed on their property.
It’s important to know about these scams and how to differentiate between the scams and the actual IRS. If you have never been contacted by the IRS, your first letter won’t be a Notice of Lien or Levy. The IRS will send you a letter first letting you know that you owe taxes, how much you owe and for what year you owe. Check to make sure your letter is coming directly from the IRS. If it doesn’t, chances are it’s’ a scam. You can always go online or call the IRS to see if you owe taxes.
If you do find out that you actually owe taxes, Polston Tax can help! Our team of tax attorneys and tax accountants can help you get into a tax resolution that is affordable to you. Give us a call at 844-841-9857 or click below to schedule a free consultation!