Everyone knows that identity theft and fraud are a serious problem, but as more and more people file their tax returns electronically, more identity thieves are looking for your personal information.
“Those scammers, what they try to do is they ask you for your personal bank information or they ask you for your financial information like your Social Security number and things of that nature. And they use that information to steal your identity. And that can be very challenging to resolve,” Tucker said.
David Tucker is with the Internal Revenue Service and he says they’ve seen a drastic increase in complaints to the IRS of people having their tax return checks stolen.
“People in the older generation are getting emails that report to be from the IRS. They should understand that those emails are scams and they should not open those files,” Tucker said.
Thieves also steal mail to get your financial information.
“Also, if people, if you’re getting a phone call just out of the blue and it’s someone’s claiming to be the IRS, those are often also scams,” Tucker said.
Even if you think a business is legitimate, be sure to double check.
“Don’t give a business your Social Security number just because they ask. Only give it when it’s absolutely required,” Tucker said.
With tax season opening on Jan. 31, Tucker recommends to file your returns electronically.
“Correct. They can use free file and then electronically file their tax return and then it will be held until, with the companies that offer free file, it will be held until the tax season opens,” Tucker said.
Which means you’ll be first in line for your tax refund.