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January 29, 2014 at 07:30 AM
Tax season starts on Jan. 31, and scammers are ready to take advantage of consumers with taxes on their minds. On Jan. 23, the IRS released a list of ways for taxpayers to avoid getting taken advantage of by would-be tax fraudsters.
The IRS announced in January that it had assigned more than 3,000 employees to address identity theft issues and is training more than 35,000 employees who work with taxpayers to recognize signs of a scam and help people who fall victim to one.
Between 2011 and November 2013, the IRS stopped nearly 15 million suspicious returns and saved more than $50 billion in fraudulent returns, it says. For fiscal 2013, the agency launched almost 1,500 criminal investigations for identity theft, up 66% over fiscal 2012. Indictments and sentencing increased as well, doubling over fiscal year 2012, with the average prison term for those guilty of identity theft of 38 months, or just over three years.
Here are 3 things every taxpayer should do to guard against tax fraud:
Throw That Phish Back
Be wary of unexpected communications that claim to be from the IRS early in the tax season. While not clicking on links or opening attachments in email from unfamiliar senders is good advice in general, the IRS probably doesn’t qualify as unfamiliar, so remind clients to be cautious.
If your clients get an email that they believe is part of a phishing scam, they can forward it to [email protected].
Watch Your Phone and Facebook
