News & Resources

IRS Warns of Scams
The IRS has recently issued warnings about two scams that are being used in order to try and obtain personal information from taxpayers. One of the recent scams involves IRS impersonators demanding payment for the “Federal Student Tax”. This scam targets students and threatens to report the student to police if they don’t wire money immediately to the scammer.

An even more recent scam comes in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando. This scam involves the creation of fake charities. Unfortunately, it has become common for scam artists to take advantage of generosity after such tragedies.

The IRS offers the following tips to help identify and protect yourself against these types of scams:

• The IRS will never:
  • Demand immediate payment over the phone, and will not call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
  • Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
  • Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount.
  • Require that you use a specific method of payment, such as a prepaid debit card.
  • Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
• Only donate to recognized charities, and beware of charities with names similar to familiar or nationally known organizations.
  • Visit this IRS link to assist in finding legitimate, qualified charities.
• Never give out personal information such as social security numbers or credit card and bank account numbers and passwords to anyone soliciting contributions.
• For security and tax record purposes, do not send cash. Contribute by check or credit card so you will have documentation of the gift.
• Scammers often send e-mails that steer recipients to bogus sites that appear to be affiliated with legitimate charitable causes.

If you have further questions on these matters, please do not hesitate to call us to discuss.