The new year has arrived and so have the scammers. Here’s what’s happening right now.
Tax scams
It’s that time of the year that most people begin collecting materials, and it’s not too early for IRS impersonators to attack. While the phone call is the favored approach, there is an uptick in fraudulent emails and text messages with a general message: “There are some problems with your tax payments in 2021 and failure to address this now will result in fines and or imprisonment. Phone text, and email messages like this are fraudulent.”
The IRS, as well as other government agencies will contact you by first class or registered letter. The IRS recommends the following if you receive one of these messages: 1. Don’t reply; 2. Don’t open any attachments; malicious code that might infect your computer or mobile phone; 3. Don’t click on any links.
Visit the IRS web page irs.gov/identity-theft-central if you clicked on links in a suspicious email or website and entered confidential information; 4. Forward, preferably with the full email headers, the email as-is to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov. Don’t forward scanned images, because this removes valuable information; 5. Delete the original email.
Medicare scams
The new year means that millions of people across the country have enrolled in new supplemental or Advantage programs. Criminals are aware; it’s…
