Protecting Yourself from Predatory Emails and Phone Calls
In addition to our own personal experiences, our clients have been contacting us regarding predatory emails and phone calls that they have received. These emails and phone calls are placed with the purpose of intimidating or tricking you into giving up personal information, placing you at risk for identity theft. They appear to come from trusted places like the IRS, law enforcement agencies and your own family and friends.
The IRS has been very vocal about the fact that they will not send out unsolicited emails and will not make phone calls threatening lawsuits or jail. They have published an informative article about ways you can protect yourself from these phishing scams. Click here for the IRS article.
They have also […]
Under a new agreement called “a sweeping new collaborative effort”, tax software vendors and the IRS will team up to fight identity theft refund fraud. This agreement will have the IRS, tax preparation and software firms, payroll and tax financial product processors, and state tax administrators collaborate to identify new steps to validate taxpayer and tax return information at the time of filing. It was found that the ability to answer knowledge-based authentication questions about taxpayers financial dealings, such as car or mortgage payments, was the reason cyber-criminals successfully breached the “Get Transcript” application system. For more information please read the complete 
Fighting identity theft is an ongoing battle as identity thieves continue to create new ways of stealing personal information and using it for their gain. Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses a stolen Social Security Number to file a tax return and claim a fraudulent refund. The IRS is committed to reducing fraudulent refunds and has launched several new initiatives to combat this problem. The 
The Franchise Tax Board issued a press release warning taxpayers to be wary of theft ploys involving scammers attempting to mimic FTB collection agents in order to gain access to taxpayers’ personal information. This is the second warning in the last few months. Read more 
Learn the consequences of identity theft, typical theft scenarios, corrective actions available once theft occurs, and theft prevention techniques