The IRS’ Dirty Dozen

The IRS has isolated twelve different prevalent tax scams that you need to be aware of.

Who Is It Targeting: Taxpayers, Business owners

What Is It: Tax scams

What Are They After: The IRS has issued its “Dirty Dozen” list of twelve common tax scams that continue to successfully steal money and information from citizens and businesses. No industry or company size is safe, and no individual taxpayer has the luxury of thinking they can’t be a target.

Everything from phishing scams to robo dial calls to extortion has made the list, and the only way to protect yourself is to recognize the scam when you see it and take action to avoid becoming a victim.

How Can You Avoid It:

• Know the tactics that scammers use, and more importantly, know your rights.
• You will never have to pay a fine or fee over the phone, and you will never have to make payment with a prepaid gift card or wire transfer.
• Never give out your personal information or someone else’s information (like payroll records) to anyone, even someone who claims to be your boss.

If you think you may be a victim of identity theft, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for toll-free, no-cost assistance at (888) 400-5530. Find more information about current scams and alerts here. For full details of this scam check out this article from Journal-News.net.