Tax Scam Alert: “Ruthless” Scammers Pose As IRS Agents

Tax season has officially started, and local officials are warning area residents to be wary of predators wanting to defraud them.

“This scam has proven to be the largest of its kind that we have ever seen”, said J. Russell George, Treasury Department inspector general for tax administration.

“As part of our Security Summit Initiative… the IRS has been working closely with the tax industry and state revenue departments to provide taxpayers with stronger protections against identity theft during the tax-filing season”, Koskinen said in a recent conference call. Our staff members work very hard to detect and stop fraud. The IRS says that most taxpayers who e-file with direct deposit will receive their federal tax refund within 21 days or less. The IRS will never call or email you to ask for personal information.

And then there’s this – the IRS does not call individuals at their houses.

“The [Senate Finance] Committee is aware that the amount of unpaid Federal tax debts continues to present a challenge to the IRS”, a report on the bill reads.

The filing deadline to submit 2015 tax returns is Monday, April 18, 2016, rather than the traditional April 15 date.

So if you do get such a call – and the scammers may call multiple times – Camus said you should just hang up.

Another seems like a good thing but it’s not. Numerous tax scams scare people when the thief threatens them with arrest, the suspension of their driver’s license or similar punishments. With the Free File Alliance, if you make $62K or less, you can e-file your taxes for free with more than a dozen brand name tax software programs available at no cost.

Tax Season is here and you can tell… Last year, about 75 percent of taxpayers received a tax refund near $3,000.

The IRS began accepting tax returns Tuesday and if you’re a procrastinator, you’re in luck this year as taxes are due a few days later than normal, April 18. All you need is your routing number and account number handy. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer). “If you ain’t in it, you can’t win it”.

There are benefits to filing your tax returns earlier instead of waiting until the last minute.

Can I get IRS forms online?

“The IRS system was built on the assumption that a social security number was a private piece of information”, he says. Anyone with trouble can call the Massachusetts Department of Revenue’s main information lines at 617-887-MDOR (or toll-free in Massachusetts at 800-392-6089) for assistance.