Watch out! Scammers are about and they are trying to find away in to you ban bank account, warns the US Internal Revenue Service.
The IRS has identified the current top 10 scams – and is warning taxpayers in the US and worldwide to watch out for fraudsters.
Here’s the list published by the IRS:
- Identity theft – top of the list for the second year running. In 2012, says the IRS, fraudsters attempted to obtain n $20 billion in bogus tax refunds. The figure was up $6 billion from the year before. An identity theft enforcement sweep in January led to 300 indictments, complaints and arrests.
- Phishing – This is a fake email designed to persuade the recipient to send money, passwords or other information to the IRS. Like the British HM Revenue & Customs service, the IRS does not send emails to taxpayers and any requests are bogus
- Tax adviser fraud – IRS tax return preparers have a registration number. Many scammers pose as registered preparers to charge fees for filing returns and then try to claim refunds from the IRS
- Offshore tax evasion – 38,000 taxpayers admitted hiding money and assets offshore to evade tax, leading to the recovery of $3.8 billion in just 2009.
- Social security fraud – Advisers and individuals try to claim social security benefits they are not entitled to and share the proceeds
- Bogus charity collections – A popular and easy to pull fraud involving a fraudsters pretending to represent a charity and collecting money for the good cause – then pocketing the cash
- Claiming false expenses – Falsely stating income to claim social security or tax credits is a common ploy among the self-employed
- Form 1099 refunds – A mindless scam based on the premise that the government holds secret bank accounts for US taxpayers that can be accessed by filing 1099-OID tax forms with the IRS. There are no accounts to access.
- Zero wages – Simply forging the details on a Form 4852 to falsely state no wages were earned, so no tax is due
- Hiding corporate ownership: Taxpayers try to reduce their liabilities with shadow directors, shareholders and other false arrangements
The IRS advises that if you are a taxpayer thinking about filing false returns, then don’t as the penalties are serious if you are caught.
If you believe you are a victim on scammers or someone tries to contact you from the IRS in dubious circumstances, call your local tax office for advice or go to the IRS web site
