What sounds like a reward should be a warning.
Scammers are trying to take your money, and possibly your identity, by calling you and offering a $9,000 reward for being a “loyal citizen” and paying your taxes on time. All you have to do is give them some personal information.
If it sounds too good to be true, your instincts are spot-on. Francis Stevenson, a computer professional from Scottsdale, wasn’t fooled by this “loyal citizen scam.” She got a call over the weekend, saying she had been chosen out of a lottery for this one-time reward. But Stevenson said it didn’t make sense.
“If the federal government was going to return money to me for having paid my taxes, they already have my bank-account information, because my taxes were returned to me via my bank account,” Stevenson said. “Or they would send me a check. They would not ask me to provide confidential information over the phone.”
She’s right.
The Internal Revenue Service does not contact taxpayers by phone for personal information. Whether the call has to do with owing money, receiving a refund, or in this case, a reward, the IRS doesn’t do business this way. Consumers would first be contacted by mail.
So, if you get a call offering a reward for paying your taxes, you can bet there are scammers on the other end of the phone.
“Criminals in a phishing scam often lure their targets with a false promise of a refund or the threat of an audit,” IRS spokesman Bill Brunson said. “Their goal is to get their victim to reveal personal and financial information. They then will use the information they get to steal identities and commit fraud.”
Though the caller makes it sound like you’re getting a $9,000 windfall, you will only end up with trouble. The best advice is to hang up.
The IRS has an identity-protection page on IRS.gov. You can also contact the agency at 1-800-829-1040 for additional advice.
Watch Stacia Naquin on 12 News Today, Monday-Friday 5-7 a.m. E-mail her at snaquin@12news.com or send her a tweet @stacia_naquin.