It’s tax season again. Not surprisingly, the IRS has warned that tax fraud is on the rise. You can reduce your risk by knowing some of the red flags and talking about IRS scams with family members. In the typical tax scheme, the fraudster contacts their target via phone, email, text, or social media. They impersonate the IRS in an effort to make the taxpayer believe that there is a problem with their tax return or refund. With every passing year, these scammers become more sophisticated in their tactics. They may:

• Use a false phone number to mimic a legitimate text or call from the IRS (“spoofing”)
• Utilize fear tactics, such as suggesting your return has an error or that you owe a large sum of money or a penalty
• Communicate that certain information needs to be “confirmed,” such as a social security number or date of birth (“phishing”)
• Instruct you to provide specific payment methods (e,g, credit cards, gift cards, money transfers or cryptocurrency) to pay your taxes
• Request that you share personal information to “facilitate tax” refunds.

What you should know:

• The IRS initiates contact about any tax issue with a letter on official IRS letterhead. They will not contact you by phone, text, email or social media
• Do not give or “confirm” any personal information to an individual who contacts you via phone call, text, email or social media
• You can verify the legitimacy of any communication you receive using the published IRS phone number: 1-800-829-1040.

If you suspect that you have been contacted by a fraudster in this type of scheme, do not click any links or respond. Visit the official IRS site for instructions. This site will also assist you with obtaining an Identity Protection PIN, if you have been the victim of a financial crime where your personal and/or financial information has been compromised or stolen. This PIN is a six-digit number that prevents someone else from filing a tax return using your Social Security (SSN) number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN).