During the past year scammers have significantly increased their techniques to access personal PII, financial information, and other information necessary for fraudulent activity. Techniques commonly utilized by scammers include Phishing (Email), Vishing (Telephone) and Smishing (Text Messages).

As Tax Season is closing, it is our responsibility to remain extremely careful when providing any personal information without verifying the identity of the individual. The Internal Revenue Service WILL NEVER contact you by email, telephone, or text messages to request your personal information.

Keep in mind, the IRS initiates communication with taxpayers using US Postal Mail.

Remain Alert!

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS):

• Will not contact you via telephone, email, text messages or social media to request personal/financial information. This includes requests for PIN numbers, passwords or similar access information for credit cards, banks, or other financial accounts.
• Will not demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer.
• Will not demand taxes be paid without giving the taxpayer the opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed.
• Will not threaten to cancel a person’s Social Security Number for overdue/unpaid taxes.
• Will not ask a taxpayer to make a payment to a person or organization other than the U.S. Treasury
• Will not threaten to contact local authorities if information requested has not been provided.

Think Before You Respond/Click

Be vigilant for suspicious emails, telephone calls or text messages pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service demanding immediate payment, requesting personal data or tax records.

Don’t click on attachments as they may contain viruses and/or malicious programs. Legitimate email messages use poor grammar. Be skeptical when it comes to your incoming messages. If it looks suspicious, do not open or respond.