Category: Scams

Dirty Dozen tax scams for 2018; Taxpayers to remain vigilant

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The IRS has issued its list of the Dirty Dozen tax scams for 2018, warning taxpayers to remain vigilant. The scams are aggressive and evolving throughout the entire year, not merely at filing season. So what are the Dirty Dozen tax scams? The Dirty Dozen tax scams are: Phishing: Phone Scams: Identity Theft: Return Preparer Fraud: Fake Charities: Inflated Refund Claims: Excessive Claims for Business Credits: Falsely Padding Deductions on Returns: Falsifying Income to Claim Credits: Frivolous Tax Arguments: Abusive Tax Shelters; and Offshore Tax Avoidance.

IR-2018-66, March 21, 2018

WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today concluded its annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams with a warning to taxpayers to remain vigilant about these aggressive and evolving schemes throughout the year.

This year’s “Dirty Dozen” list highlights a wide variety of schemes that taxpayers may encounter throughout the year, many of which peak during tax-filing season. The schemes can run the gamut from simple refund inflation scams to technical tax shelter deals. A common theme throughout these: Scams put taxpayers at risk.

Taxpayers need to guard against ploys to steal their personal information. And they should be wary of shady promoters trying to scam them out of money or talk them into engaging in questionable tax schemes.

The IRS highlighted the “Dirty Dozen” scam list in separate news releases across 12 days. Taxpayers are encouraged to review the list in a special section on IRS.gov and be on the lookout for these con games throughout the year.

The IRS reminds people that participating in illegal schemes can lead to significant fines and possible criminal prosecution. IRS Criminal Investigation works closely with the Department of Justice to shut down scams and prosecute the criminals behind them.

Taxpayers should always keep in mind that they are legally responsible for what is on their tax return even if it is prepared by someone else. Consumers can help protect themselves by choosing a reputable tax preparer. For more see the Choosing a Tax Professional page.

Here is a recap of this year’s “Dirty Dozen” scams:

Phishing: Taxpayers should be alert to potential fake emails or websites looking to steal personal information. The IRS will never initiate contact with taxpayers via email about a bill or tax refund. Don’t click on one claiming to be from the IRS. Be wary of emails and websites that may be nothing more than scams to steal personal information. (IR-2018-39)

Phone Scams: Phone calls from criminals impersonating IRS agents remain an ongoing threat to taxpayers. The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams in recent years as con artists threaten taxpayers with police arrest, deportation and license revocation, among other things. (IR-2018-40)

Identity Theft: Taxpayers should be alert to tactics aimed at stealing their identities, not just during the tax filing season, but all year long. The IRS, working in the Security Summit partnership with the states and the tax industry, has made major improvements in detecting tax return related identity theft during the last two years. But the agency reminds taxpayers that they can help in preventing this crime. The IRS continues to aggressively pursue criminals that file fraudulent tax returns using someone else’s Social Security number. (IR-2018-42)

Return Preparer Fraud: Be on the lookout for unscrupulous return preparers. The vast majority of tax professionals provide honest, high-quality service. There are some dishonest preparers who operate each filing season to scam clients, perpetuating refund fraud, identity theft and other scams that hurt taxpayers. (IR-2018-45)

Fake Charities: Groups masquerading as charitable organizations solicit donations from unsuspecting contributors. Be wary of charities with names similar to familiar or nationally-known organizations. Contributors should take a few extra minutes to ensure their hard-earned money goes to legitimate charities. IRS.gov has the tools taxpayers need to check out the status of charitable organizations. (IR-2018-47)

Inflated Refund Claims: Taxpayers should take note of anyone promising inflated tax refunds. Those preparers who ask clients to sign a blank return, promise a big refund before looking at taxpayer records or charge fees based on a percentage of the refund are probably up to no good. To find victims, fraudsters may use flyers, phony storefronts or word of mouth via community groups where trust is high. (IR-2018-48)

Excessive Claims for Business Credits: Avoid improperly claiming the fuel tax credit, a tax benefit generally not available to most taxpayers. The credit is usually limited to off-highway business use, including use in farming. Taxpayers should also avoid misuse of the research credit. Improper claims often involve failures to participate in or substantiate qualified research activities or satisfy the requirements related to qualified research expenses. (IR-2018-49)

Falsely Padding Deductions on Returns: Taxpayers should avoid the temptation to falsely inflate deductions or expenses on their tax returns to pay less than what they owe or potentially receive larger refunds. Think twice before overstating deductions, such as charitable contributions and business expenses, or improperly claiming credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit. (IR-2018-54)

Falsifying Income to Claim Credits: Con artists may convince unsuspecting taxpayers to invent income to erroneously qualify for tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. Taxpayers should file the most accurate tax return possible because they are legally responsible for what is on their return. This scam can lead to taxpayers facing large bills to pay back taxes, interest and penalties. (IR-2018-55)

Frivolous Tax Arguments: Frivolous tax arguments may be used to avoid paying tax. Promoters of frivolous schemes encourage taxpayers to make unreasonable and outlandish claims about the legality of paying taxes despite being repeatedly thrown out in court. The penalty for filing a frivolous tax return is $5,000. (IR-2018-58)

Abusive Tax Shelters: Abusive tax structures are sometimes used to avoid paying taxes. The IRS is committed to stopping complex tax avoidance schemes and the people who create and sell them. The vast majority of taxpayers pay their fair share, and everyone should be on the lookout for people peddling tax shelters that sound too good to be true. When in doubt, taxpayers should seek an independent opinion regarding complex products they are offered. (IR-2018-62)

Offshore Tax Avoidance: Successful enforcement actions against offshore cheating show it’s a bad bet to hide money and income offshore. People involved in offshore tax avoidance are best served by coming in voluntarily and getting caught up on their tax-filing responsibilities. (IR-2018-64)

NOTE:

Taxpayers and tax professionals should be vigilant as to the Dirty Dozen tax scams for 2018.

Avoid IRS scams: Know the facts on how the IRS contacts taxpayers

IRS scams. The IRS has issued a fact sheet on crooks impersonating the IRS by phone or in person, IRS Scams, and being vigilant in order to avoid becoming a victim.

FS-2018-12, May 2018

Crooks impersonating the IRS either by phone, email or in person cost people their time and money. The IRS urges people to stay vigilant against schemes and scams and avoid becoming a victim.

Here are some important tips for taxpayers to keep in mind to avoid scams:

How the IRS initiates contact

The IRS initiates most contacts with taxpayers through regular mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. However, there are special circumstances in which the IRS will call or come to a home or business, such as:

  • When a taxpayer has an overdue tax bill,
  • To secure a delinquent tax return or a delinquent employment tax payment, or
  • To tour a business, for example, as part of an audit or during criminal investigations.

Even then, taxpayers will generally first receive a letter or sometimes more than one letter, often called notices, from the IRS in the mail.

Avoid telephone scams

Criminals impersonate IRS employees and call taxpayers in aggressive and sophisticated ways. Imposters claim to be IRS employees and sound very convincing. They use fake names and phony IRS identification badge numbers. They’re demanding and threatening – and do not reflect how the IRS handles enforcement matters.

Note that the IRS does not:

  • Demand that people use a specific payment method, such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. The IRS will not ask for debit or credit card numbers over the phone. For people who owe taxes, make payments to the U.S. Treasury or review gov/payments for IRS online options.
  • Demand immediate tax payment. Normal correspondence begins with a letter in the mail and taxpayers can appeal or question what they owe. All taxpayers are advised to know their rights as a taxpayer.
  • Threaten to bring in local police, immigration officers or other law enforcement agencies to arrest people for not paying. The IRS also cannot revoke a license or immigration status. Threats like these are common tactics scam artists use to trick victims into believing their schemes.

IRS employees may make official, unannounced visits

IRS employees may make official and sometimes unannounced visits to discuss taxes owed or returns due as a part of an audit or investigation. Taxpayers generally will first receive a letter or notice from the IRS in the mail. If a taxpayer has an outstanding federal tax debt, IRS will request full payment but will provide a range of payment options.

Here are the facts:

  • All IRS representatives will always provide their official credentials, called a pocket commission and a HSPD-12 card. The HSPD-12 card is a government-wide standard form of reliable identification for federal employees and contractors. Taxpayers have the right to see these credentials. IRS employees can provide an additional method to verify their identification. Upon request, they’re able to provide a toll-free employee verification telephone number.
  • Collection employees won’t demand immediate payment to a source other than “U.S. Treasury.”
  • IRS employees may call taxpayers to set up appointments or discuss audits but not without first attempting to notify taxpayers by mail.
  • IRS employees conducting criminal investigations are federal law enforcement agents and will never demand money.

Find more information about Criminal Investigation and how to know it’s really the IRS calling or knocking on doors for audits and collection on IRS.gov.

Avoid email, phishing and malware schemes

Scammers send emails that trick businesses and taxpayers into thinking the messages are official communications from the IRS or others in the tax industry. As part of phishing schemes, scammers sometimes ask taxpayers about a wide-range of topics, such as refunds, filing status, confirming personal information, ordering transcripts and verifying personal identification numbers.

The IRS does not use email, text messages or social media to discuss tax debts or refunds with taxpayers.

Calls from IRS-contracted private collection agencies

The IRS assigns certain overdue tax debts to private debt collection agencies or PCAs. Here are the facts about this program:

  • The IRS will send a letter to the taxpayer letting them know the IRS has turned their case over to one of the four PCAs. The PCA will also send the taxpayer a letter confirming assignment of the taxpayer’s account to the agency.
  • The IRS will assign a taxpayer’s account to only one of these agencies, never to all four. The IRS authorizes no other private groups to represent the IRS.
  • It’s important to know that PCA representatives:
    • Will identify themselves and will ask for payment to “U.S. Treasury,”
    • Will not ask for payment on a prepaid debit or gift card, and
    • Will not take enforcement action.

How to report scams

Taxpayers can use these options to report phone, email and other impersonation scams:

  • Report impersonation scams to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. on the “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” webpage.
  • Report phone scams to the Federal Trade Commission using the FTC Complaint Assistant. Add “IRS Telephone Scam” in the notes.
  • Report an unsolicited email claiming to be from the IRS or an IRS-related system like the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.

More information:

Source IRS Fact Sheets.