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Watch Out for Tax-Related Scams

“Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars and their personal information to tax scams,” according to the IRS. Criminals can contact victims through regular mail, telephone calls and email messages. Here are just two of the scams the tax agency has seen in recent months.

Fake property liens. A tax bill is sent from a fictional government agency in the mail. The fake agency may have a legitimate sounding name such as the Bureau of Tax Enforcement. The bill is accompanied by a letter threatening an IRS lien or levy based on bogus overdue taxes. (A levy is a legal seizure of property to satisfy a tax debt. A lien is a legal claim against your property to secure payment of your tax debt.)
Phony calls from the IRS. In this scam, criminals impersonating IRS employees call people and tell them that, if they don’t pay back taxes they owe, they will face arrest. The thieves then demand that the taxpayers pay their tax debts with a gift card, other prepaid cards or a wire transfer.

Important reminders

If you receive a text, letter, email or phone call […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:03:35+00:00October 8th, 2019|irs|0 Comments

Equifax Data Breach- What You Should Know

The Equifax data breach, which is estimated to have impacted 143 million Americans – nearly half the US population – is considered one of largest data breaches in history. So there is a good chance you or someone you know will be impacted by it. While hackers and scammers have been targeting innocent consumers for decades, this data breach will only complicate matters. But there are steps you can take which should allow you to rest a little easier.

First, you need to determine if any of your information was exposed or has been manipulated. You can do this by entering your last name and the last six digits of your Social Security number at Equifax’s website. The site will tell you if you’ve been affected by the data breach. Side note- people have reported that one day it will tell them they aren’t affected, but when they try again later they are, so it would be worthwhile to try it a few times to make sure they provide consistent info.
Whether or not you were exposed, Equifax has set up a free one-year monitoring service called “TrustID Premier” which you can sign up […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:53+00:00October 6th, 2017|fraud, irs|0 Comments

Beware of Fake Charity Scams Relating to Hurricane Harvey

WASHINGTON ― The Internal Revenue Service today issued a warning about possible fake charity scams emerging due to Hurricane Harvey and encouraged taxpayers to seek out recognized charitable groups for their donations.

While there has been an enormous wave of support across the country for the victims of Hurricane Harvey, people should be aware of criminals who look to take advantage of this generosity by impersonating charities to get money or private information from well-meaning taxpayers. Such fraudulent schemes may involve contact by telephone, social media, e-mail or in-person solicitations.

Criminals often send emails that steer recipients to bogus websites that appear to be affiliated with legitimate charitable causes. These sites frequently mimic the sites of, or use names similar to, legitimate charities, or claim to be affiliated with legitimate charities in order to persuade people to send money or provide personal financial information that can be used to steal identities or financial resources.

IRS.gov has the tools people need to quickly and easily check the status of charitable organizations.

The IRS cautions people wishing to make disaster-related charitable donations to avoid scam artists by following these tips:

Be sure to donate to recognized charities.
Be wary […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:54+00:00August 31st, 2017|irs|0 Comments

Beware of Fake IRS Calls and Emails

Recently there have been an influx of calls and emails to citizens of Sonoma County from people claiming to be from the IRS. This is a known scam and is an ongoing issue. Here are some tips from the IRS website on how to identify a fake call from the IRS and what to do:

“The IRS reminds people that they can know pretty easily when a supposed IRS caller is a fake. Here are five things the scammers often do but the IRS will not do. Any one of these five things is a tell-tale sign of a scam. The IRS will never:

1. Call to demand immediate payment, nor will we call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
2. Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
3. Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
4. Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
5. Threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.

If you get a phone call […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:05:15+00:00February 23rd, 2016|irs|0 Comments