Today, I was fortunate enough to record a radio interview on The Lake Effect Radio WUWM 89.7FM. The interview topic was on tax scams and how they effect everybody. We are always trying to educate our clients on the tax scams that are out there to protect them from being taken advantage of. I have wrote about these topics many times before, but educating the public about them can not happen enough.

The tax industry is a prime target for criminals to attack. The first real threat to taxpayers came during the 2014 tax season when we began to notice that tax returns were being rejected by the e-file system due to a tax return already being filed under a social security number. To be honest, I am surprised that it took this long for tax returns to be the source of identity theft. Identity theft has been going on for years, but this was the first time it effected the tax industry. The IRS combated the issue by issuing PIN’s to those who’s identity had been compromised. We have seen a decline in the number of tax identity theft cases because of this, but it is still an issue.

The next real threat began in the summer of 2015. This is when we began receiving phone calls from our clients about phone calls that they were receiving from the IRS. We would get these phone calls almost daily, and you could tell some of our clients were really shook up by it. These scam phone calls threatened that if you didn’t pay tax that you owed, you would be put in jail. Since this time, the police have finally began to crack down on the call centers overseas that were conducting these calls. There has been a decline in the volume of call being made, but I know that they are not done.

The next phase of tax scams has shifted to e-mail. Not only are taxpayers being targeted, but tax professionals are also being targeted. As a taxpayer, never click on any link or respond to any e-mail that you are uncertain of. You can forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov. As tax professionals, we have received e-mails inquiring about our services. They are pretty easy to sniff out based on certain characteristics, so we have not fell subject to their attempt. Their end goal is to use our credentials to file a tax return or to try and hack into our database. All of our client information is kept in a secure, encrypted location. We keep up to date with all tax scams and take extreme precaution to ensure all client information is safe.

Criminal activity, and specifically scams are a never ending cycle. There is always going to be something that someone out there is going to try and exploit to make easy money. Hammernik & Associates will always be ahead of the curve in educating you about potential scams that are out their involving the tax industry.

Here are some key points to always remember….

Here’s a link to the IRS website that provides info on how to report suspected tax fraud activity:

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-you-report-suspected-tax-fraud-activity

The radio segment is set to air in the next couple of weeks. We will announce the day and time when it is known, and we will also post the audio when it becomes available.

Have a great weekend,

Nicholas Hammernik, EA

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