How to Detect Fraud Imitating the IRS or Charities


fraud a year-round activitybut tax season brings an increase in calculated schemes to steal money and personal information by fake messages and other tools. Cyber ​​security companies reported an increase Fraud attempts exploiting the conflict in Ukraine – a situation that raises fears potential cyber attacks over American companies by ransomware and other malware. You can protect yourself better if you know what’s out there. Here is a guide.

this Internal Revenue Service does not make initial contact with taxpayers via email, text messages or social media channels to request personal and financial information, including bank account or credit card numbers, passwords or PIN codes. Messages asking for this information are deceptive “e-fraud” tries to steal money and identity.

If the IRS needs your attention, it starts with one. notification by regular mail through the United States Postal Service in most cases.

The IRS will not send unexpected messages about audit returns. incentive payments, collect your taxes or “cancel your Social Security number”. An IRS representative can call or visit when a taxpayer has an overdue bill or has other tax-related problems. But even then, written notice is usually sent first, by agency.

Fraud phone calls and voicemails using fake agent numbers and fake IRS agent ID are common. Again, the agency usually sends a notification by mail first. He does not call unexpectedly to discuss tax returns, threaten arrest by local law enforcement, or demand immediate payment in a particular form. Tax bills are paid directly to the U.S. Treasury, not to “agents” who require funds in iTunes or Amazon gift cards, prepaid debit cards, electronic cash or wire transfer.

this Tax Frauds/Consumer Alerts page officially irs.gov There is a long list of available and classic scams on the site. And there is a guide for the site verification of real IRS agents and identification legitimate creditors.

Opportunistic scammers are quick to take advantage of natural disasters and humanitarian crises. Covid-19 pandemic and war in ukraine. Be wary of messages soliciting credit card or cryptocurrency donations from organizations you don’t know, or appearing to be from refugees or members of the military. If you don’t know the promoter, crowdfunding campaigns should be avoided or heavily scrutinized.

Most scam attempts are easy to spot. Messages with typos, impersonal “official” messages from Gmail and Yahoo accounts, and voicemail messages left in robotic computer conversation are immediate danger signs. fake invoices and fake PayPal notifications remains a popular phishing attraction.

You can avoid many phishing traps by fine-tuning your mail program’s settings. junk filters and blocking unwanted calls and text senders. Allow unknown callers to go to voicemail. Wire cutterA site owned by the Times, anti spam guide.

Make sure your browser is set to . block pop-up messages and warn about malicious sites. Do not install apps from unknown developers and antivirus software active on your computer. If spam arrives, do not call the number and do not open the attachment – it is likely to be malware. If you’re concerned about an account, open your browser and navigate to the company’s website, avoiding links in messages.

Credit…Apple

this Consumer Financial Protection Bureauhas a site detailed page about fraud and scam currently circulating. and if you have If you’ve been practicing secure computing for years, you probably have a friend or relative who isn’t tech-savvy — and they might need your help.



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