Tax season is over, but scammers are still out to make a quick buck at your expense.
One common tactic this time of year is to email or call people and claim that their 2017 taxes were never filed or never paid.
IRS spokesman Christopher Miller reminds people that the IRS will always make contact with you through official mail from the Post Office.”The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information.”
Miller says strong arm tactics are a core part of many of these scams, trying to coerce the victim into handing over their money.
“The IRS does not threaten to immediately bring in police or other law enforcement groups to have the taxpayer arrested for not paying.”
The IRS will also never demand immediate payment over the phone or over an email, and that they certainly won’t require payment through wire transfers or gift cards.
If you are getting scam emails, the IRS has set up a special email address to forward those mails at phishing@irs.gov. “That’s a mailbox where we can track the phishing attacks, and hopefully stop some of them,” says Miller.
You can find out more online at https://www.irs.com/articles/common-tax-refund-scams.