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Now that we are in the full swing of tax season, various IRS scams are springing by the second. People have lost millions of dollars to IRS scams over the years and it’s becoming most prevalent in this tax season. All the IRS system wanted for all was to pay tax easily without stress, but cybercriminals are out there planning sophisticated but phony trick to victimize others. IRS scams include a caller claiming to be from the IRS and demanding your money and personal information. It could also be through email and even an up-close and personal scam. Sometimes, these people try to frighten you with aggressive messages, which get most people frightened, making them give up their money, account details, and social security number. Year in, year out and at every tax season, the IRS ensures to warn about phony letters and emails sent to taxpayers demanding immediate payment. The IRS will never ask you to cough out money. Scammers know that the IRS prefers to contact taxpayers through snail mails, so they try as much as possible to impersonate them with emails. How To Stay Safe In This Tax Season IRS scammers are not relenting in trying all means to make taxpayers fall victim to their scams. It is you who should brace up and take measures to prevent you from falling victim. In the thick of this season, you should have a tax lawyer whose duty is to monitor and attend to your IRS and state tax issues. A tax lawyer deals directly with the IRS on your behalf. This way, no one would be on your neck demanding you to cough out money because you can easily tell it’s a scam. Having a tax lawyer will ease you of technical tax situations IRS tax scams. If you get any suspicious call or mail from, you can always consult with your tax lawyer to get clarity. Cumberland Law Firm, LLC ensures that you do not fall into IRS scam or any form of tax scam. We deal with all tax issues on your behalf, leaving you to concentrate more on your business and other important things. Generally, having a tax lawyer can prevent you from falling into any form of tax issue. Top Popular Scams • Impersonating The IRS IRS scammers impersonate the IRS to get details on your account. They call you or send you emails telling you something is wrong with your account, they tell you something about your account violates the law, or they tell you to make payment to a person or a strange account or threaten to bring in the local police. An important thing to note about impersonating scam is that they want you to grant their demands immediately, whether information, details, or money. They may also be coercive in their dealing. • Website or Email Phishing This is the hottest category of IRS scams. Cybercriminals send taxpayers a fake link or email, usually regarding a tax return. Such mail is to compel you to see your new tax return. Once you log in to such command, they steal your username and password to obtain sensitive data. They may pose as your tax preparer promising to entice you with a less tax return if you click a link or log into a particular website. When you see a link or website from a suspicious or untrusted mail regarding IRS or states tax, you should hover your cursor across it to see the actual URL. Also, consult your tax lawyer. Do not log in to any suspicious link. • Inflated Refund Advertisement Still impersonating the IRS, tax scammers may bait taxpayers to give out sensitive account details by promising a bigger refund on a tax return. You may see this on a community flyer or group, online ad, local lister, etc. Beware of fake tax preparers that demand you to fill a blank return that may require you giving your personal information. Some of them would normally require you to do this before they can review your account to determine your refund percentage. It’s all scam! A recent tax scam is the dissemination of a phony email posting as the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP). This body, TAP is an advisory to the IRS and has no reason to demand taxpayers’ financial information. • Last Minute Scam Last-minute scams are common in this tax season. This style of scam catches people’s desperation to be sure they do not have any last-minute issue with receiving a tax return. This is a final trick for tax scammers. They may ask if a taxpayer wants to change their refund destination (e.g from a bank account or physical check to a prepaid debit card). It may also be in the form of a link requiring you to log in to effect changes online. Having a tax lawyer to monitor and handle your tax issues will prevent you from falling victim of such because all your tax issue goes to them. How Then Does IRS contact You As A Taxpayer It is important to keep in mind that the IRS does not contact you by text messages, emails, phone calls or social media to request your personal and financial information. Firstly, the IRS communicates with taxpayers through old fashioned snail mail. All contacts from the IRS is via regular mail delivered by the US Postal Service. Although, the IRS may call or visit a home or business in very special circumstances like an overdue tax bill, cases of delinquent tax return, audit or criminal investigation tour. Before this happens, the taxpayer will receive several notices from the IRS in the mail delivered by the US Postal Service. So, there is no such thing as a random call or visit from the IRS. Any call or visit from anyone claiming to the IRS if you haven’t received prior notices via mail is probably a scam. You should also know that tax payment goes to the United States Treasury. The IRS is only responsible for payment collection through the EFTPS ( Electronic Federal Tax Payment System), check or money order, electronic fund withdrawal, cash through their retail partners, or the same day-wire. They won’t ask you to send your prepaid debit card or use a different entity. So, regard any phony IRS mail demanding payment to any other entity or account other the US Treasury as fake. Stay Safe With Cumberland Law Firm Have you received an IRS notice? Or do you have IRS or state tax issues? Cumberland Law Firm tax lawyers are readily available to help you resolve all issues. We deal directly with all tax-related issues on your behalf, leaving no room for a scam. Our tax lawyers are experienced and can save you the stress of dealing with complex tax issues and tax returns. We offer effective representation for our clients while helping to minimize the amount you pay to the IRS. Consult Cumberland Law Firm to get all the legal assistance you need on your tax issues. Contact us for you legal challenges and all tax issues at Cumberlandlawatlanta.com or call 678-385-5953