Be on the Lookout for These 3 Tax Scams

In the early ’60s, Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle hit a remarkable number of home runs — including famous, back-to-back four-baggers that, according to Yogi Berra, were the reason he famously quipped, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” While spring training is still a bit away, we’re in the thick of tax season, where legions of scammers are swinging for the back wall. According to the IRS, there was a 400% increase in phishing and malware incidents during the 2016 tax season. With the April 15 filing deadline still feeling as far away as the Green Monster from home plate in Fenway Park, Berra’s other dictum — “It ain’t over till it’s over” — has never been more true. My book, “Swiped: How to Protect Yourself in a World Full of Scammers, Phishers and Identity Thieves,” goes into great detail about the various tactics cyber criminals use to lure you, but the most important thing you can do to keep yourself scam-free this tax season is educate yourself on the most prevalent risks out there. As ever, the best advice is to file your taxes as early as possible. Tax-related identity theft is primarily aimed at grabbing your tax refund, and scammers are creative, sophisticated and persistent and move very quickly once your information is in hand. Armed with your Social Security number, date of birth and a few other pieces of your personally identifiable information, which if you have been involved in a data breach (you can check here to see warning signs and view two of your credit scores for free on Credit.com) is likely available on the Dark Web, people are furiously filing fraudulent tax returns online. See also: Implications for Insurance Taxation?   Here are three scams to bear in mind as the tax season is upon us: 1. Phishing There is no bigger threat than phishing. By now, it is a home truth that there are phishers out there. Catfishing is a regular part of the popular imagination, and phishing emails hit our inboxes with the same regularity as the various promotional emails we get from retailers and media outlets. Phishing emails take many forms, but they are most commonly pointed at getting enough of your personally identifiable information to commit fraud in your name (identity theft). They also commonly contain a link that places malware on your computer. These programs can do a variety of things (none of them good), ranging from recruiting your machine into a bot-net distributed denial-of-service attack; to placing a keystroke recorder on your computer to access bank, credit union, credit card and brokerage accounts; to gathering all the personally identifiable information on your hard drive. Here’s what you need to know: The IRS will never send you an email to initiate any business with you. Did you hear that? NEVER. If you receive an email from the IRS, delete it. End of story. Oh, and the IRS will never initiate contact you by phone, either. That said, there are other sources of email that may have the look and feel of a legitimate communication that are tied to other kinds of tax scams. 2. Criminal tax preparation scams You learned how to do homework in school for this reason: Not all tax preparers are the same, and you must vet anyone you’re thinking about using well before handing over a shred of your personally identifying information. Get at least three references, check online to see if there are any reviews and call them. Here’s why: At this time of the year, tax prep offices that are actually fronts for criminal identity theft tend to pop up around the country in strip malls and other properties and then promptly disappear a few days later. Make sure the one you choose is legit. 3. Shady tax preparation Phishing emails may not be aimed at stealing your personally identifiable information or planting malware on your computer. They simply may be aimed at getting your attention and business through enticing (and fraudulent) offers of a really big tax refund. While these preparers may get you a big refund, it could well be based on false information. Be on the lookout for questions about business expenses that you did not accrue, and especially watch out for signals from your preparer that you are giving him or her a figure that is “too low.” Other soft cons of shady tax preparation include inflated deductions, claiming tax credits to which you are not entitled and declaring charitable donations you did not make. Bottom line here: We’re all connected these days, and chances are you will get caught, so just make sure you are working with someone who follows the instructions. (Yes, they’re complicated, and that’s why it’s not a bad idea to get help.) See also: New Worry on ID Theft: Tax Fraud   As Berra said, “You can observe a lot by watching.” Tax season is stressful even without the threat of tax-related identity theft and other scams. It’s important to be vigilant, because, to quote Berra all over again, “If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.” Full disclosure: CyberScout sponsors ThirdCertainty. This story originated as an Op/Ed contribution to Credit.com and does not necessarily represent the views of the company or its partners.