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IRS Unveils ‘Dirty Dozen’ List of Tax Scams For 2020 – Part 2

This week we continue our IRS Dirty Dozen list of tax scams.

Social Media Scams: Taxpayers need to protect themselves against social media scams, which frequently use events like COVID-19 to try tricking people. Social media enables anyone to share information with anyone else on the Internet. Scammers use that information as ammunition for a wide variety of scams. These include emails where scammers impersonate someone’s family, friends or co-workers.

Social media scams have also led to tax-related identity theft. The basic element of social media scams is convincing a potential victim that he or she is dealing with a person close to them that they trust via email, text or social media messaging.

Using personal information, a scammer may email a potential victim and include a link to something of interest to the recipient which contains malware intended to commit more crimes. Scammers also infiltrate their victim’s emails and cell phones to go after their friends and family with fake emails that appear to be real and text messages soliciting, for example, small donations to fake charities that are appealing to the victims.

EIP or Refund Theft: The IRS has made great strides against refund fraud and theft in recent years, but they remain an ongoing threat. Criminals this year also turned their attention to stealing Economic Impact Payments as provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Much of this stems from identity theft whereby criminals file false tax returns or supply other bogus information to the IRS to divert refunds to wrong addresses or bank accounts.

The IRS recently warned nursing homes and other care facilities that Economic Impact Payments generally belong to the recipients, not the organizations providing the care. This came following concerns that people and businesses may be taking advantage of vulnerable populations who received the payments. These payments do not count as a resource for determining eligibility for Medicaid and other federal programs They also do not count as income in determining eligibility for these programs.

Taxpayers can consult the Coronavirus Tax Relief page of IRS.gov for assistance in getting their EIPs. Anyone who believes they may be a victim of identity theft should consult the Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft on IRS.gov.

Senior Fraud: Senior citizens and those who care about them need to be on alert for tax scams targeting older Americans. The IRS recognizes the pervasiveness of fraud targeting older Americans, along with the Department of Justice and FBI, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), among others.

Seniors are more likely to be targeted and victimized by scammers than other segments of society. Financial abuse of seniors is a problem among personal and professional relationships. Anecdotal evidence across professional services indicates that elder fraud goes down substantially when the service provider knows a trusted friend or family member is taking an interest in the senior’s affairs.

Older Americans are becoming more comfortable with evolving technologies, such as social media. Unfortunately, that gives scammers another means of taking advantage. Phishing scams linked to Covid-19 have been a major threat this filing season. Seniors need to be alert for a continuing surge of fake emails, text messages, websites and social media attempts to steal personal information.

Stay tuned for the next segment of the IRS Dirty Dozen.

IRS Unveils ‘Dirty Dozen’ List of Tax Scams For 2020 – Part 1

Each year, the Internal Revenue Service releases its annual “Dirty Dozen” list of tax scams.   This year, there is a special emphasis on aggressive and evolving schemes related to coronavirus tax relief, including Economic Impact Payments.  I will be sharing this year’s “Dirty Dozen” over the course of the next four blogs.

“Tax scams tend to rise during tax season or during times of crisis, and scam artists are using the pandemic to try stealing money and information from honest taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig. “The IRS provides the Dirty Dozen list to help raise awareness about common scams that fraudsters use to target people. We urge people to watch out for these scams. The IRS is doing its part to protect Americans. We will relentlessly pursue criminals trying to steal your money or sensitive personal financial information.”

Phishing: Taxpayers should be alert to potential fake emails or websites looking to steal personal information. The IRS will never initiate contact with taxpayers via email about a tax bill, refund or Economic Impact Payments. Don’t click on links claiming to be from the IRS. Be wary of emails and websites − they may be nothing more than scams to steal personal information.

IRS Criminal Investigation has seen a tremendous increase in phishing schemes utilizing emails, letters, texts and links. These phishing schemes are using keywords such as “coronavirus,” “COVID-19” and “Stimulus” in various ways.

Fake Charities: Criminals frequently exploit natural disasters and other situations such as the current COVID-19 pandemic by setting up fake charities to steal from well-intentioned people trying to help in times of need. Fake charity scams generally rise during times like these.

Fraudulent schemes normally start with unsolicited contact by telephone, text, social media, e-mail or in-person using a variety of tactics. Bogus websites use names similar to legitimate charities to trick people to send money or provide personal financial information. They may even claim to be working for or on behalf of the IRS to help victims file casualty loss claims and get tax refunds.

Taxpayers should be particularly wary of charities with names like nationally known organizations. Legitimate charities will provide their Employer Identification Number (EIN), if requested, which can be used to verify their legitimacy. Taxpayers can find legitimate and qualified charities with the search tool on IRS.gov.

Threatening Impersonator Phone Calls: IRS impersonation scams come in many forms. A common one remains bogus threatening phone calls from a criminal claiming to be with the IRS. The scammer attempts to instill fear and urgency in the potential victim. In fact, the IRS will never threaten a taxpayer or surprise him or her with a demand for immediate payment. 

Phone scams or “vishing” (voice phishing) pose a major threat. Scam phone calls, including those threatening arrest, deportation or license revocation if the victim doesn’t pay a bogus tax bill, are reported year-round. These calls often take the form of a “robocall” (a text-to-speech recorded message with instructions for returning the call).

The IRS will never demand immediate payment, threaten, ask for financial information over the phone, or call about an unexpected refund or Economic Impact Payment. Taxpayers should contact the real IRS if they worry about having a tax problem.

Next week we will reveal the next three alerts of the Dirty Dozen.

Did You Know That Your Phone Can Be Hijacked?

Yep, your cell phone can easily be hijacked – taken over by criminals.  And, this isn’t just phone calls, but EVERYTHING on your phone – emails, bank information, photos, etc., Everything is vulnerable.  So, what do you have on your phone?  Anything that is sensitive? 

With information available online, it is not difficult to get confidential information.  After all, now we are not giving out our full Social Security Numbers but are usually asked for only the last four digits.  Four digits are easier to determine rather than nine.  With just a little information, hackers can contact your phone provider and pretend to be you.  How hard would it be? 

So, what is the outcome if this happens?  The hijacker would request the carrier to transfer the information from your old phone to a new phone which is in control of the hijacker.  Then your old phone goes dead – no service!

So, who is at risk?  Anyone and everyone.  And the sad thing is that there is nothing you can do to stop it.  High tech geeks have had their phones hijacked. 

What can you do to prevent being a victim of hijacking?  Much the same as you do with your home electronics – don’t open strange emails, make certain passwords are long and complicated, don’t publish your phone number especially on social media accounts.  Specific to your phone, use a PIN for verifications purposes and two-factor authentication if possible.  

And, if you are the victim of phone hijacking, evidenced by your phone not receiving service, says “no service”, “no network” or “emergency calls only”, contact your service provider immediately. 

Is Wifi Your Friend? Wi Not?

There cannot be enough said these days about protecting yourself and your electronics.  We have conditioned ourselves to the need to have access every minute, it seems.  But, do we really stop and think about safety and security when we are using free public WiFi?  Should we?

We should be very concerned when using free public WiFi because it is not secure, as the communications are not encrypted.  Without the use of encryption, accessibility is easy and convenient.  This opens the door up to technology being used that allows wireless computer communications within range of your device to see what you are doing, information you are passing along and your user names and passwords. You are helping the bad guys.  Is this personal information of so little importance to you? 

So, what is the answer?  Use VPN or Voice Protocol Network.  The use of a VPN encrypts and routes wireless communications to a secure channel for your computer to communicate.  Also, using secure websites – those with ‘https” indicates that it is a secure website.  Although, if you are accessing a website with ‘https’ via a VPN, your communication is secure. 

It is good practice to take as many precautions as you can to protect yourself and your information.  This is something we shouldn’t be lax about.  All you need is one little tidbit of you to get out before damage can be done. 

Medical Equipment Scams

There have been so many fraudulent claims to Medicare for durable medical equipment (DME) — wheelchairs, walkers, braces and other devices prescribed by doctors to help patients deal with an injury or chronic illness at home that have been in excess of $6 BILLION, yes Billion, a YEAR! Yikes. This is yet another way older Americans are being exploited.

You get a phone call for “free” medical equipment – Medicare will pay for it.  You may even see an advertisement or be approached at a health fair.  The call may sound real as someone claiming to be from Medicare calls to say you’re eligible for a free knee or back brace, and they need your Medicare or Social Security number to process the benefit. You may or may not get a brace, but the crooks get what they need to steal your identity.

Using telemarketing and hard-sell tactics, unscrupulous equipment suppliers lure you into ordering their wares, get your health care information, obtain bogus prescriptions (by paying kickbacks and bribes to doctors or by forging their signatures) and file false claims. They stick Medicare with the bill for costly devices that are not medically necessary, not properly prescribed or not delivered to patients at all.

Don’t let your health concerns make you an unwitting accomplice to fraud. Take these steps to avoid medical equipment scams.

  • Hang up on unsolicited calls offering you a medical device that will be billed to Medicare.
  • Carefully review MSNs and EOBs. Call Medicare (800-633-4227) or your insurance company if you see claims for supplies or services you don’t recognize.
  • Be aware that if you accept an offer of medical equipment, you could be responsible for up to 20 percent of the Medicare-approved cost of the item.

And by all means,

  • Don’t give your Medicare or insurance number to strangers. Share it only with trusted health care providers.
  • Don’t order durable medical equipment over the phone unless advised to do so by your physician.
  • Don’t accept delivery of medical equipment unless it was ordered by your doctor.
  • Don’t be swayed by scare tactics, such as claims by an equipment provider that you should get a device now because Medicare is running out of money. Charging Medicare for equipment for future use, before your doctor certifies it as medically necessary, is illegal.

Medicare Fraud

Medicare and its more than 60 million beneficiaries are under attack from scammers who want to disrupt the program. Their primary aim is defrauding Medicare itself.  Billions of dollars were lost in 2017 due to fraud, abuse and improper billing. You ask – how can this happen?  Their schemes target beneficiaries directly, steal identities or enlist Medicare participants as unwitting accomplices. 

Medicare fraud usually involves rogue health care providers or medical suppliers who bill the program for services, equipment or medication that they don’t actually provide, or else inflate the cost of those items. Some will even falsify a patient’s diagnosis to justify unnecessary tests, surgeries and other procedures or write prescriptions for patients they’ve never examined. Others use genuine patient information obtained through identity theft to create fake claims.

Here are some ways that fraudsters exploit the Medicare system:

  • Telemarketers Calls to participants with offers of free state-of-the-art braces to relieve joint pain. When received, only ordinary ankle or knee wraps (or nothing at all) is in the package, but Medicare gets a bill for thousands of dollars.
  • Disreputable home health care agencies try to sign people up for services that Medicare pays for but that they never receive.
  • Phony prescriptions or ordering unnecessary tests and procedures are another avenue of fraud.
  • Fraudsters telephoning people or being present at health fairs with offers of DNA tests to uncover cancer risks claiming Medicare will pay for the tests.  In reality, Medicare pays for genetic testing in only very limited circumstances.  So, the end result is the individual gets a hefty bill for the test.
  • Obtaining your Medicare number could result in Medicare being billed for phony prescriptions or unnecessary medical services.  This could result in denial of coverage for services in the future.

So, what should you look out for? 

  • Receiving robocalls offering free medical services or equipment if you provide your Medicare number. 
  • Advertisement for free services specifically for Medicare patients.
  • A health care provider claiming to be able to get Medicare to pay for services not normally covered.
  • Your Medicare Summary Notices listing claims from providers from whom you did not receive services.

What should you do?

  • Don’t accept offers for free medical services in exchange for your Medicare number.
  • Only share your Medicare number with trusted health care providers.
  • Keep track of medical appointments and services on a calendar and keep receipts.
  • Review your Medical Summary Notices.

And, whatever you do,

  • DON’T give personal information to anyone who calls out of the blue and claims to be from Medicare, even if your caller ID shows an actual Medicare phone number. Scammers use caller ID spoofing to mask their location.
  • DON’T talk to anyone who knocks on your door or approaches you in person and claims to represent Medicare or to be selling Medicare-covered supplies.
  • DON’T accept money or gifts to use the services of a medical provider or device supplier. Some swindlers use kickbacks and bribes to obtain Medicare information for phony claims.
  • DON’T be swayed by high-pressure tactics, such as a telemarketer’s threat that Medicare will declare you ineligible unless you accept the offer of a “free” brace quickly.
  • DON’T consent if someone asks to bill you for a DNA test or other service in the event Medicare declines to pay for it.

Robocalls – How to Recognize Them

IRS scams and phishing, identity theft, this scam, that scam — What’s This World Coming To?

Scammers are creative.  Must be nice not to have anything else to do but come up with new ploys to intimidate and steal from law-abiding citizens.  The elderly are particularly vulnerable in these ploys and so easily fall prey to the scams.  Here are a couple of new ways people have gotten creative:

You get a call that talks about health insurance.  If you listen to the scheme that they can get you better insurance for a lower price, you are then asked to press 1 to speak to an agent.  When you press 1, you may not be directed to a legitimate representative but to a scammer. 

You receive a call from law enforcement stating that a warrant has been issued for your arrest due to your failing to appear for jury duty.  Surely, if you received the notice that you were called for jury duty you would remember.  Don’t fall for this call.  If you have doubts as to being called for jury duty, contact your county clerk’s office. 

A call stating that your Social Security Number has been compromised or that there is an enforcement action against you.  You will be asked to verify your Social Security Number and from there, the scammer will use your SSN to commit crimes.  If in doubt, call your local Social Security Administration office, not the number provided in the robocall.

Medicare fraud is becoming more common.  You get a message from a pain center because someone at your number requested information about medical equipment.  You may qualify for the equipment at a reduced or no cost to you.  You need only press 1 for more information. 

As you can see, scammers are creative.  Don’t buy into the robocalls.

Tax Scams Aren’t Seasonal

One might think that since April 15 has passed, so has the season for tax scams. Think again. There is no season for tax scams. They occur 365 days a year. 

The IRS has reported a couple of new variations of tax-related scams. 

They call one of them the SSN HUSTLE.  In this scam, the scammer claims to be able to suspend or cancel a Social Security Number. This is similar to the IRS impersonation scam.  Don’t return calls to robo-call voicemails. And, if you answer a call like this, hang up. Or, if you are inclined to say something, tell them to send it in writing. 

Another scam is that of a fake tax agency. And, this you do get in writing. The claim is that you have delinquent taxes and that there is a lien against you or that your property will be levied upon. This scam can be very confusing because it looks legitimate and to be from the IRS.  If you receive such a mailing, do not call the number that may be in the notice. Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. 

Stay alert. 

Phone scams continue and you should remember that the IRS does not leave a pre-recorded, urgent or threatening message.  Don’t rely on caller ID as these can be fake.

If in doubt, call the IRS at 800-829-1040.

The same goes for email phishing scams. The IRS does not contact taxpayers by email.  Most contacts from the IRS come through the US Postal Service regular mail. Only in special circumstances will the IRS call or visit a home/business. These visits are usually only after other communications have not been successful.

If you think that you may have received an email that appears to be from the IRS that is fraudulent, report it by sending it to phishing@irs.gov. Don’t reply to the email. 

REMEMBER, the IRS will not call you to demand immediate payment and ask for financial information. They will not threaten to bring in law enforcement.

If you receive something that appears to be a scam and you are having a guilty conscience because you do owe or may owe taxes, contact the IRS directly.  Don’t fall prey to a scam. YOU should initiate contact with the IRS by calling them at 800-829-1040.

Don’t be a victim. Outsmart the scammers.

Being Safe and Secure Online

I know you keep hearing about online security and soon you will say, if you haven’t already, that I am like a broken record.  But in today’s world, one cannot be too safe or secure. 

Cookies on the internet are tiny files that are transferred to your computer from websites you visit.  This is a way that websites and online services collect and use information about you.  Some websites will have a popup message that the site uses cookies and you can allow or block the cookies from being used. However, each web browser has a different process for enabling cookies. 

When you are connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, there is a vulnerability which exists.  To be more secure, consider installing a virtual private network (VPN) that will work in conjunction with your web browser to encrypt all information as it leaves your computer or mobile device. 

Passwords – how many do you have?  Are they simple or complex?  Would it be likely someone could easily find out your password?  Skip the numeral sequence or repetition, abc’s, your name, the name of a family member, etc.  The best passwords include numbers and letters – both upper and lower case as well as a symbol or two.  Think of a catchy phrase or sentence that you like and recreate it.  For example – “I like to go to the seashore” could be “Ilk2go2cshore!”.  Get creative. 

When you are shopping online, make certain that the website address is secure with “https” being displayed at the beginning of the website address.  If there is only “http”, then the site may be a bogus website designed to look like the site you are attempting to log into.  If the address doesn’t have the “https”, close your browser, reopen and manually type in the website you are attempting to find. 

You enjoy online shopping. Which is better to use?  A credit card or a debit card?  It is safer to use a credit card because if there is a problem with your purchase or the merchant, you can call the credit card issuer and file a dispute.  Your liability is limited to usually $50.00 and most credit card companies will most likely waive that.  Using a debit card does not provide you with the ability to file a dispute. 

If you don’t use social media, you avoid the risks associated with it.  If you do, don’t post a photo where you are looking directly at the camera.  The picture could be used to forge a passport or driver’s license.  Also, don’t post photos showing that you are traveling.  Wait until you get home to post pictures or information about your trip.  Posting while traveling could be a temptation for someone to break into your home. 

Just as you lock the doors to your home or car, take steps to be secure on the internet. 

Nice To Meet You

It is so nice to meet you. 

But, you ask, how did we meet? 
I don’t recall meeting you.  Is my memory fading?

Maybe your memory is fading, but I really don’t care about that.  Let me tell you some ways that I may have met you. 

  • Have you entered contests and provided your name, address, age? 
  • Do you fill out survey forms that disclose your information, perhaps from a hotel, restaurant, website where you purchased something? 
  • Have you completed a warranty card for a new appliance, a car, tires, a computer, mobile phone? 
  • Do you toss your mail that has your name, address, perhaps account number or other information without first shredding the same?
  • Have you been named in an obituary for a loved one who recently passed? 
  • Are you a social media person? 
  • Do you live in the United States?

If you answered affirmatively to any of these questions, identity thieves may have gained access to your personal information, AND, the more you share in these areas, the more vulnerable you are.  Even if you trust sites and companies, by providing information to them, your information could be compromised if they experience a data breach.  Posting vacation pictures on social media can invite potential break-ins at your home. 

It may seem like we are broken records – if you know what that phrase means – but PLEASE, PLEASE be cautious with the information you share.  Look for trouble and you won’t find it; don’t look for trouble and it could find you.

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