So you are all filed and feeling pretty good, but you get a phone call. A scary, threatening phone call from the “IRS” that you did something wrong, you owe money, the tax police are coming to get you! HANG UP

The IRS, the U.S. Tax Court, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service (“TAS”) have all released warnings that scammers are calling claiming to be them. Some of these scammers are so savvy that when you hang up, they will call back from a different spoofed number claiming to be the police and they are coming for you. They are NOT. These scammers are trying to get either information from you (Social Security, Apple ID, Bank Account, etc.), often money (usually want gift cards, because they are not traceable), and they want to scare you. Side Note: If anyone on any phone call asks you to send them gift cards, no matter what the reason, it is more than likely a scam.

Here is a fun fact about all these agencies. They don’t call you by phone. The U.S. Tax Court and The IRS send you a scary paper letter. The TAS is an independent organization within the IRS that is set up to protect your rights and will help you with tax problems that you cannot resolve on your own. They don’t call you and point out these problems. They wait for you to call them, so they definitely will NOT call to demand money. The IRS will send you a bill, and lets be honest, it will likely be LOTS of bills before they call.

The IRS does not demand tax payment without giving you the ability to appeal. They will never ask for a specific payment method. Earlier this year, a scam was going around where the scammer stated that the IRS only excepted payments into one specific WellsFargo account, because they wanted to “save money”. Come on people, has our government ever tried to save money? All jokes aside, they won’t ask for any specific way to pay. Finally, they won’t ask for your credit/debit info over the phone.

Scammers are great at spoofing numbers, so it may even look like the phone number from one of these agencies. HANG UP. Even if you did hang up on the IRS, if you call them back to verify if they called at their actual number 1-800-829-1040, they are not going to be more angry with you. Do NOT engage with these people. It isn’t worth your time.

If calls are not fun enough, you may get emailed. You guessed it, none of these agencies will email you. Don’t open the email. If you already opened it, do NOT click anything in it. This is a good rule from any strange email (credit card, store, etc). Always go directly to the website and check it out for yourself. Obviously, you don’t want to use the website provided in the email.

You also want to be sure your cyber security software is up to date, and as much as it sucks, make sure you don’t use the same password for every website. Be careful what you put on social media. Your birthday, your pets name, etc. If someone is stalking you, they can get all kinds of good info there. Feel free to lie about your Birthday, better than someone getting info from you.

If you see deposits into your bank account, don’t get excited. Report them to the bank. Scammers often deposit into your account 1. to see if they can access the account or 2. to call later and angrily demand the money back. If you get an unexpected refund check in the mail, write VOID on it then mail the check to the IRS Service Center or State Tax Authority, letting them know you think the check is fraudulent. There is NO free money in this world.

If you feel that someone is trying to scam you, report it to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA.gov or 1-800-366-4484). If you feel that someone has successfully scammed you and you are now a victim, report it to IRS.GOV and your State Tax Authority.

We live in a crazy world with some super smart scammers. Just be aware and if you get an “uh-oh” feeling you should trust it.

This blog is not meant to be tax advice. It is purely for entertainment purposes. For any questions about your specific situation, contact your trusted Certified Tax Preparer or CPA.