THE tax season is a busy one for fraudsters who try to swindle taxpayers out of their refunds.
Rob Shauvell, tax scam expert and co-founder of Abine and DeleteMe, has already seen this happen to thousands of people.
In fact, More than 2.4million Americans are targeted by people pretending to be from the IRS each year, according to Legal Jobs.
Mr Shauvell explained to The Sun that there are three common ways a scammer will try to take your refund:
- Emails
- Phone calls
- Fake websites
However, he noted that “35%–45% of scams happen through emails and phone calls”.
Emails
Scammer tax emails can look quite similar to IRS emails, but there are a couple of ways to help you identify one.
One thing you can look at is the email address that it was sent from.
If it is not the IRS’s email address that is listed on its official website, it is most likely a scam.
Mr Shauvell: “Phishing emails generally contain a few personal details, like your mother’s maiden name or your past address.”
Scammers usually get this personal information off the internet or social media platforms, such as Facebook or Instagram, to make their emails look more legitimate.
This is something to be cautious of as you browse through your emails.
Phone calls
Phone calls are another way scammers will try to get your tax refund out of you.
Generally, the caller will identify…
