By Shae Rozzi, Fox23 News
With refunds expected to be bigger this year, you may be anxious to file your taxes. But the BBB wants to make sure you don’t fall for a scam.
The wife of one of our news partners at Fox23 received a voicemail from someone claiming to be from Tax Mediation Assistance. That made the couple feel like it could be a scam.
“I’m wrapping up my Friday follow ups and wanted to connect since your records still shows unresolved balance issues that could result in additional charges or potential collection actions if left open.” the voicemail said.
They say they’re not behind on their taxes, and the husband is the one who files, not the wife. So it stood out to them that someone claiming to help would be calling their number.
We asked Amie Mitchell, the CEO of the BBB of Eastern Oklahoma about other ways scammers may try to trick you.
“So a lot of the tax scams we see are going to be phishing scams. Those are going to come by text message or email, and they’re going to ask for more additional information or say you forgot something. So be really careful on those,” says Mitchell. “The other one we see a lot are overpayment scams saying that ‘Oh, we needed to send you more money. So please fill out this form or give us your credit card information so that we can send you an additional refund.’ These are scams. You have to be really careful.”
Mitchell says scammers try to reach out through texting or email. The IRS does so by mail.
“Your scam artists are going to try to use your texting and your emails, but the IRS is going to send you something in the mail before they ever do anything else. Should you have questions, you can reach out to them by phone, but they’re only going to contact you typically by certified mail.”
The IRS also says you will get a letter from them first letting you know your account was assigned to a private collection agency and it will tell you exactly how to contact them.
The IRS says if anyone else besides the agency listed in your letter calls you about your unpaid tax debt, just hang up. They also say to never pay a person or collection agency directly.
The IRS says you’ll never be asked to pay by gift card, pre-paid debit card, cryptocurrency, or by wire transfer. When you do go to file, Mitchell says you should set up a pin for your account with the IRS to protect your personal information.
“It’s a five digit pin,” says Mitchell. “You can set it up with them. Once it’s set up, you have to use it from there on out, but I do recommend you go ahead and set it up. It will help you, save you from getting scammed.”
There are free tax filing options for people whose adjusted gross income is $89,000 or less. The IRS has eight specific trusted partners and some of those partners will also file your state taxes for free. You can find more information and help with the links provided:
E-file: Do your taxes for free
Here’s how to know that private collection agency calling you is legit – YouTube video text script
