Tax Scams - Take the time to investigate the following. Just remember ... you are smarter than you give yourself credit for. Trust you instinct and don't hand over your hard earned money to a con-artist. Just keep in mind Bernie Madoff and how he stole millions from innocent people (trusting people just like you) There are 100's and 100's of "Bernies" who would be happy to take your money.
Don't fall victim to tax scams. Remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you think you're being scammed, you can report suspected tax fraud activity by sending completed Form 3949-A, Information Referral, to Internal Revenue Service, Fresno, CA 93888. You can download the form or call 1-800-829-3676 to order by mail.
Some of the common scams the IRS sees include:
***IR-2008-41, Phishing Scams, Frivolous Arguments Top the 2008 “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams
1. Phishing - This is the one to be extremely aware of. I've seen this one on a number of public forums.
Phishing is a tactic used by Internet-based thieves to trick unsuspecting victims into revealing personal information they can then use to access the victims’ financial accounts. These criminals use the information obtained to empty the victims’ bank accounts, run up credit card charges and apply for loans or credit in the victims’ names. Phishing scams often take the form of an e-mail that appears to come from a legitimate source. Some scam e-mails falsely claim to come from the IRS. To date, taxpayers have forwarded more than 33,000 of these scam e-mails, reflecting more than 1,500 different schemes, to the IRS. The IRS never uses e-mail to contact taxpayers about their tax issues. Taxpayers who receive unsolicited e-mail that claims to be from the IRS can forward the message to a special electronic mailbox, phishing@irs.gov, using instructions contained in an article titled “How to Protect Yourself from Suspicious E-Mails or Phishing Schemes.” Remember: the only official IRS Web site is located at www.irs.gov.
IR-2007-61, IRS Identifies 40 Frivolous Positions for Taxpayers to Avoid
IR-2007-37, Fraudulent Telephone Tax Refunds, Abusive Roth IRAs Top Off 2007 “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams
IR-2006-25 , IRS Announces “Dirty Dozen” Tax Scams for 2006
Employment Tax Schemes (IR-2004-47)
Misuse of "Corporation Sole" Laws for Religious Organizations(IR 2004-42)
Offering to Help Obtain Tax Benefits — targets have included military families (IR-2003-63)
Schemes involving Medical Professionals — FS-2004-115 and FS-2003-12
Schemes Promoting Use of Disabled Access Credit (IR-2002-17)
Home-Based Business Tax Avoidance Schemes (IR-2002-13)
Slavery Reparation Scams (IR-2002-08) and court cases involving such scams (FS-2002-08)
Misuse of "Corporation Sole" Laws for Religious Organizations (IR 2004-42)
find out more on IRS.gov website ~ @http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=98269,00.html
