Who Is Calling You?

First published - tsbas.com

Tax season may be over, but news around it does not seem like it is going to go away anytime soon. First, there is the impending debate and ensuing battle when it comes to the president’s desired tax reform. Second, there seems to be no way to ever get away from tax scams.

In fact, just a couple of weeks ago saw eight arrests in Miami of suspects who were alleged to be responsible for almost $8.8 million in fraud. That number is certainly a sizeable one, but I am more stunned by the fact that this involved over 7,000 victims. When you consider that potential scammers must contact multiple people for every victim they connect with enough to defraud, you start to appreciate the size of some of these operations.

Sure, in the grand scheme of things over the entire population of our country, that still does not mean you everyone is going to be contacted by one of these scam operations. It does, however, prove that it pays to be vigilant. In fact, I have a couple of rules that I always tell people to live by when it comes to such situations.

First, if you think something sounds fishy, chances are that it is fishy. Think back on your life and see if you can come up with a story of something that sounded too good to be true, that then turned out to be actually true. That cautionary phrase exists for a reason, for our instincts exist for a reason. So in a similar vein, if something sounds too bad to be true, you are likely correct then, too.

Second, if you are worried that you are being contacted by legitimate authorities, but still feel unsure, check up on it. You can contact the IRS, or whoever is claiming to be contacting you, to check if the correspondence you are receiving, or conversation you are having, is based around an actual issue. Sure, this is not going to be the most pleasant experience, and could take a good deal of time, but that little bit of time is worth it before sending money to someone who bullied you into it or placed a seed of fear inside you that did not need to sprout and costs you money.

I also worry that new avenues are opening up for potential scams, for the IRS is now using private collection firms to get overdue taxes. The IRS is doing its best to let people know how to feel comfortable in these situations, and confident that it is legitimate. You can view a YouTube video on the issue here, or visit this website for more in-depth information about the program and the collection agencies chosen to work with the IRS.

The biggest key I want everyone to take away from this is that you will always receive a written letter from the IRS as the first source of communication with you concerning a tax debt. If you have not received this letter and are contacted by someone claiming you owe money, chances are much better that it is a scam than that the letter got lost in the mail. A secondary key is to know that any real payment you are required to make will have to be paid to the IRS or the US Treasury, never to a collection agency itself or to an individual, or in any form like a prepaid debit or gift card.

Let me close with a wish for the continued safety of you and your finances, and please know we are here for any questions you may have along the way.

Warmly,

Nicole Odeh

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