Tax-filing season also is scam season

ATLANTA — As if filing annual income tax returns isn’t stressful enough, consumers also need to be on the lookout for tax-related scams, Georgia’s attorney general says.

IRS imposters are one thing that Georgia residents should be wary of, Attorney General Chris Carr says.

In this type of scam, a scammer contacts a person by phone, claiming to be an IRS agent and insisting that the individual owes the IRS money. The scammer tries to get the individual to pay by wiring money or loading money onto a pre-paid debit card and often threatens arrest or legal action if the person refuses to comply.

A person can easily fall victim to the scam, Carr’s office says, because the fraudulent callers may know the targeted victim’s Social Security number, either all or part of it, and can use software to make the call appear to be coming from the IRS on the phone’s caller ID.

To avoid being a victim, people should know:

— The IRS does not call a taxpayer about unpaid taxes or penalties; the agency typically contacts consumers by letter via the U.S. Mail;

— The IRS won’t demand a specific form of payment and won’t leave a message threatening to sue you, arrest you or deport you if you don’t pay immediately;

— If you get a call purporting to be from the IRS, do not send money. Instead, hang up and report the scam to the FTC and to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at tigta.gov or by calling 1 (800) 366-4484;

— If you know or think you owe taxes, call the IRS at 1 (800) 829-1040 to speak to a legitimate IRS employee who can help you with any real payment issue;

— If you get an email that claims to be from the IRS, do not reply or click on any links. Instead, forward it to [email protected].

Consumers also can fall victim to tax identity theft, which occurs when a criminal uses the taxpayer’s Social Security number to file a bogus tax return in the taxpayer’s name and collect a refund. It also can occur when someone uses a Social Security number that matches yours to get a job.

Typically, Carr’s office says, a consumer doesn’t realize he or she is a victim of tax identity theft until a written notice is received from the IRS about multiple tax returns being filed on a Social Security number, or stating that you have been paid by an employer the taxpayer doesn’t know.

Carr’s office says the best way to avoid this is to beat the criminal to the punch by filing taxes as early as possible, before the scammer can do it. But Georgians also can get an Identity Protection PIN from the IRS before filing returns. The six-digit number, in addition to a Social Security number, verifies identity.

One important note: There is no opt-out once you get an IP PIN. The IP PIN must be used every time you file a federal tax return. The taxpayer is provided the first IP PIN online and then each December receives a new IP PIN via U.S. Postal Service. For information, visit www.irs.gov/individuals/get-an-identity-protection-pin.

A victim of tax ID theft should contact the IRS at 1 (800) 908-4490 and file a complaint with the FTC at www.ftc.gov/complaint or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.

Some tax preparers, Carr’s office noted, offer Refund Advances, short-term loans in the amount of an expected tax return with the cost of the tax preparation deducted. With tax refunds typically issued by the IRS within 21 days of filing a return, the taxpayer should determine whether the expediency of getting the money faster is worth the cost of the tax preparation.