During tax time, scammers will try to take your money

It’s tax return time and the IRS is not the only one after your money.

The IRS is warning taxpayers to beware of several email and telephone scams that use the IRS name as a lure, said William E. Bunson, the IRS Media Relations spokesman in Phoenix.

The scam involves a proposed advanced payment check.

Although the government has not yet enacted an economic stimulus package in which the IRS would provide the advance, these types of scams are all ready cropping up, Bunson said.

The goal of the scam is to trick people into revealing personal and financial information, such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers, which the scammer can use to commit theft.

Another form of scam involves a supposed “rebate.” In this type of scam the consumer receives a phone call from someone identifying himself or herself as an IRS employee. The caller tells the victim that he is eligible for a sizable rebate for filing his taxes early.

The caller then asks the victim for a bank account number for the direct deposit of the rebate. If the target refuses, he is told he cannot receive the rebate.

According to Bunson, the IRS cannot force taxpayers to use direct deposit. Those that opt for direct deposit do so by completing the appropriate section of their tax return, with bank routing information, when they file. The IRS does not gather the information over the phone.

Scammers also use email to bring in their targets. The email notifies the recipient that his or her tax return is being audited. In many cases the salutation in the body address refers to the victim by name, Bunson said.

The email instructs the recipient to click on links to complete forms with personal and account information, which the scammers use to commit identity theft.

Bunson said the IRS does not send unsolicited account emails to taxpayers.

Those that have received questionable email claiming to come from the IRS can forward it to a mailbox the IRS has established to received such emails: phising@irs.gov.

There is also an article by the IRS titled, “How to Protect Yourself from suspicious E-mails or Phising Schemes.”

Bunson said that scammers will try anything, including using the name of the IRS, to get your money. With a little caution, taxpayers may avoid these problems.