Prevent your chances of tax fraud this year
FROM STAFF REPORTS Gulf Breeze News news@gulfbreezenews.com

Every tax season, scam artists come out to prey on unsuspecting consumers. Your Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns that fraudsters posing as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are using mail, e-mail and the telephone to con taxpayers into revealing their personal and financial information.

Scams through e-mail: Most tax scams are perpetrated through e-mail phishing schemes. Scammers use a variety of tactics to trick victims into thinking they're being contacted by the IRS, credit card companies or financial institutions.

E-mails often look official, for example using the IRS logo, and are often addressed to the recipient by name. They may claim that there's an issue with the recipient's refund, that they are being audited or that there is a problem preventing their taxes from being processed. Often, hyperlinks lead to a Web site where victims are asked for Social Security numbers, bank account information or credit card numbers. In some cases, these illicit sites automatically install viruses and malware on the victim's computer or steal personal information without the victim's knowledge.

Know the Red Flags: Many phishing scams are operated outside the United States, and their e-mails are often rife with spelling and grammatical mistakes. And the IRS doesn't send unsolicited, tax-account related e-mails to taxpayers.

Scams over the phone: BBB warns consumers about one ploy in which scammers pose as IRS representatives, saying they are calling to verify a taxpayer's bank account number because the IRS has noticed that the individual has not cashed their tax refund check yet.

Know the Red Flags: The IRS does not monitor whether or not taxpayers have cashed refund checks or not. And the IRS primarily communicates with taxpayers in writing through the U.S. Postal Service.

Scams through the mail: The IRS reports that non-U.S. residents are receiving bogus IRS letters and a fake Form W- 8BEN for establishing appropriate tax withholding. Recipients are told to fill out the form and provide account numbers, pin numbers, their mother's maiden name and their passport number.

Know the Red Flags: Consumers who receive IRS or tax-related forms in the mail should go online to verify the authenticity of forms on the IRS Web site. In the case of non- U.S. residents, the real Form W- 8BEN does not ask for personal information.

Refund scams: With the approval of the 2008 economic stimulus package, consumers need to be on the lookout for refund check scams. While no specific tax refund scams have emerged yet in the 2008 tax season, BBB predicts it's only a matter of time.

In a variation of the age-old advance fee check scam, BBB advises consumers that they could potentially receive what looks like a legitimate check from the IRS in the mail with directions to wire money back to the IRS or some other third party who is supposedly processing the check on behalf of the IRS in order to cover fees or taxes.

Know the Red Flags: Consumers don't need to divulge any information beyond filing their tax returns, nor do they need to wire money to receive their refund check.

For additional information and advice you can trust, start with bbb.org.