Tax season presents a perfect opportunity for identity thieves.
Tax season can be a period of worry, confusion and financial stress. However, for identity thieves, tax season brings the perfect opportunity to steal the identities and hard-earned money of hardworking individuals.
Taxpayers should be aware of scams using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) name and logo to gain access to personal or financial information in order to commit identity theft and/or steal assets. These scams frequently use phishing, a tactic employing an email or website to trick you into providing detailed personal or financial information, such as your name, Social Security number or date of birth. Identity theft occurs when scammers use this information to empty bank accounts, use credit cards or obtain credit in your name.
Fraudulent tax return preparers are known to charge inflated prices for their services, skim part of their clients’ refunds, and attract new customers by offering guaranteed or inflated refunds.
