BALTIMORE — January 23 is the official start of tax season for taxpayers and cyber crooks are looking to cash in by stealing your personal information and grabbing your tax returns.
There are ways to protect yourself and some tips on what taxpayers should look out for as scams become more and more elaborate.
Scammers will try to trick taxpayers by phone, email or regular mail, but the Better Business Bureau wants taxpayers to be extra cautious and think twice about how their tax filing and who gets access to their personal info.
The Better Business Bureau is keeping a close eye on tax scams and fake IRS agents trying to contact you.
The BBB reports that during 2021 there were at least 52,000 reports of tax scams to the IRS.
Those scams resulted in a total loss of $1.6 billion stolen from taxpayers.
Tax experts advise people to file as soon as possible because it reduces the risk of tax identity fraud in which someone has time to file a return in your name.
For an added layer of protection, taxpayers can request an "identity protection pin" from the IRS, if they’re concerned about data breaches or your information being compromised.
One key thing to remember is the IRS will never call or threaten taxpayers.
The only communication from the agency will come through certified U.S. Mail, so, if you get a text message claiming to be from the IRS, it's fake.
Taxpayers should be on the lookout for any questionable email requests and double-check who the sender’s email address. Look out for any misspelled words and strange formatting. If the email doesn't come from a sender whose email address ends in .gov that email is also fake.
Greater Cleveland Better Business Bureau president and CEO Sue McConnell said “scammers love to scare. they love to panic people because it puts you in a situation where you're not thinking clearly.”
One thing that is real this tax season is that federal tax returns are expected to be smaller this year. If you're getting less back than usual, don't blame the cyber crooks, that's just uncle sam making up for some changes made during the pandemic.
For more on what's new with this year's tax season in Maryland, click here.
