Protecting Your Personal Information During Tax Season

Protecting Your Personal Information During Tax Season

By Wiss Associate 

As accountants, we understand that your identity is just as important as your financial well-being.  With tax season just around the corner, scammers will use this opportunity to get access to personal information.  Some common strategies include receiving calls from:

• A self-proclaimed “Governmental Agency”
• U.S. Treasury or IRS
• Sweepstake entry representative

We’ve all heard stories of someone who have fallen victim to these. In today’s technology and information filled world, it is easy to gather a few basic information from the Internet to gain trust to private information.

What to do before and after you encounter these scammers:

1. Send out a warning to your network (family, friends, colleagues, accountant)
2. Gather the scammer’s information or phone number and report it to the Federal Trade Commission
3. Report IRS impersonations here
4. If it’s too late and you have already given them too much information, call 800-908-4990 to report the incident. You may be asked to file an IRS Form 14039 to prove your identity.

Read the entire article here.

Next