Advertisement
  • National News
  • State News
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe
  • My Account
Subscribe For $2.50/month
Print Editions
News Journal
  • News
    • Local
    • Sports
    • School
    • Courthouse
      • Deeds
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
    • Southern Baptist
  • eJournal
  • Legals
  • Classifieds
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Login
  • FAQ
No Result
View All Result
News Journal
No Result
View All Result
News Journal
No Result
View All Result

Financial Focus: Watch out for tax season scams

Mountain Media, LLC by Mountain Media, LLC
January 27, 2023
in Local Stories, Local Stories
0
0
SHARES
2
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It’s that time of the year when we do our taxes, but it’s also the same time that tax scammers go to work. What scams should you watch for and how can you avoid being victimized? 

Sadly, the list of scams is pretty long, including demands for payment or requests for “additional information” pertaining to your tax refund, in which the sender asks for your Social Security number and other personal information.

These scam emails can look quite official, often incorporating the IRS logo. You might also receive scam text messages containing bogus links claiming to be the IRS website or an online “tool” that can help process your refund faster.

But keep these points in mind:

  • The IRS generally won’t contact you by phone and won’t contact you by email, text messages, or social media channels to ask for personal or financial information. The IRS begins most correspondence to taxpayers through regular mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. 
  • The IRS won’t call to demand you make an immediate payment through a prepaid debit card or wire transfer. If you owe taxes, the IRS generally will mail you a bill. And the IRS won’t threaten to bring in the police or another law enforcement group to arrest you for not paying your taxes. 

In general, be extremely skeptical about any type of communication purporting to be from the IRS that sounds bullying or over-inquisitive and certainly don’t give out any personal or financial information.

But these fake messages aren’t the only tax-season scams out there. You might even receive a direct deposit from what appears to be the U.S. Treasury Department, but if you weren’t expecting it, something’s probably not right.

This payment could be a sign that a fraudulent tax return was filed in your name, and it might be followed by a communication from a supposed IRS agent requesting this overpayment be sent to him. If this happens to you, you’ll want to contact the IRS right away, and you could also ask your bank to return the deposit to the government.  

Other scams don’t claim to originate directly from the IRS as scammers pretend to be from real or imaginary tax organizations. For example, you could get a message from the Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the IRS, but this agency won’t contact you without a legitimate reason. Or you could receive a message from the nonexistent “Bureau of Tax Enforcement.” Your best bet is to delete these messages immediately or send them to your spam folder. 

Not all tax season scams originate from fraudulent IRS representatives or fake agencies. You also need to be careful about whom you hire to prepare your taxes. If possible, get a recommendation from a trusted friend or a family member.

And keep in mind that a legitimate tax preparer must have a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number and must sign your tax return. If someone doesn’t have this number or is reluctant to sign your return, this may well be a sign that this individual is a “ghost preparer” who only wants to pocket your fee. 

Tax scammers are, unfortunately, here to stay, but remaining vigilant can help you keep them from causing problems for you in this tax season and all the ones in the future.

 

This article was written by Edward Jones Member SIPC and submitted by local Edward Jones financial advisor Meghan Kuczmanski (540)-552-1241. 

 

Sign up to our newsletters

Enter your email address to join our newsletters.

You will receive a confirmation email for your subscription. Please check your inbox and spam folder to complete the confirmation process.
Some fields are missing or incorrect!
Lists
Previous Post

Radford City Police Department Report

Next Post

WalletHub: Virginia unemployment claims are 13.64% lower than the previous week; fifth best decrease in country

Next Post

WalletHub: Virginia unemployment claims are 13.64% lower than the previous week; fifth best decrease in country

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News Journal

Navigate Site

  • News
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Spiritual
  • eJournal
  • Legals
  • Classifieds
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Login
  • FAQ

Follow Us

  • Login
Forgot Password?
Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.
body::-webkit-scrollbar { width: 7px; } body::-webkit-scrollbar-track { border-radius: 10px; background: #f0f0f0; } body::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb { border-radius: 50px; background: #dfdbdb }
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Local
    • Sports
    • School
    • Courthouse
      • Deeds
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Spiritual
    • Parabola
    • Transcendental Meditation
    • The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
    • Southern Baptist
  • eJournal
  • Legals
  • Classifieds
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Login
  • FAQ