JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s tax season! Scammers are capitalizing on your stress and procrastination to file your taxes in time for the April 15 deadline.
Don’t let them fool you during your rush to file.
News4JAX Anchor Kent Justice was contacted by a scammer, who left a message on his cellphone, asking that he call a number provided to discuss a past due tax debt.
Justice does not owe any taxes and knew immediately it was a scam. He shared the voice message with our viewers on The Morning Show to warn others.
LISTEN: Kent Justice shares tax scam call left on his voicemail
Mike Walfield, an assistant special agent in charge with the IRS’ field office in Tampa, said Justice was likely targeted at random by a scammer hoping to find someone who does owe taxes to the IRS.
“They’ll guess if you owe money and the ones who respond are the people who owe money. So, they’re trying to give you information that sounds like they know something, but they don’t. They’re just guessing,” he explained. “What they are trying to do is either have you send them money saying that it’s a way to settle your tax debt or give them information that they can then use to get money from either filing false tax returns or just stealing your identity.”
Walfield said you should know the IRS will only contact you three ways:
- By mail, sending you a letter
- By knocking on your door, an IRS agent could visit you at home if they have been unable to reach you by mail
- By phone, but the phone call is only to set up an in-person meeting to discuss your taxes
Walfield also warned about another common scam the IRS hears about right now during tax season that involves fake tax preparers.
“The most common thing that is done improperly with taxes is that the person is trying to prepare an improper return. Maybe he doesn’t even let you see all of the information on your return and gets a very high fee for doing so and you think that you’re getting a legitimate refund,” he explained.
The IRS said to do your homework before you hire anyone to prepare your taxes.
Make sure they put their name on the return, that you review it with them line-by-line, and that you do not pay anyone up front.