Looking forward to a tax refund this season? Be sure you protect your money and your identity from tax thieves who cast their phishing lines with crafty lures.
Tax time thieves commonly send what appear to be official emails from the Internal Revenue Service, or make fictitious phone calls from numbers that appear to be from the IRS on a caller ID box. To get your financial or personal information, scammers will typically use scare tactics, such as demanding immediate payment for an outstanding amount of money they claim you owe the IRS. The truth is that if you owe the IRS money, or are expecting a refund, they will never initiate contact with you for payment details or personal information with an email, phone call, text message or via social media.
The good news is you can turn the tables on these tax time thieves with the following tips from the IRS:
If you receive a phishing email:
If you receive a phishing phone call:
No problem. Just phone our Contact Center at 877.254.9328, available 24/7, and a UNIFY Representative will assist you.