— —
As the tax season moves into full swing scams and deceptive business practices are flourishing, while New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is asking residents to take action.
Schneiderman said any suspected schemes designed to steal personal and financial information from consumers should be reported to his office.
In addition to these scams, he said tax preparation businesses are also on the prowl to take advantage of consumers through a variety of other deceptive practices.
One common tactic is to advertise low fees to get the customer in the door, only to increase the final fee by hundreds of dollars, claiming the tax return was more complicated. There are also offers of instant cash to help a consumer pay bills while waiting for their refund, but they can come with undisclosed fees and high interest rates.
In addition, some business are just not equipped to handle the volume of business they take in, resulting in delays in getting the refund that one paid a premium to get quickly.
“Tax season is stressful enough as it is,” he said. “The last thing New Yorkers need to worry about is having their identities stolen by unscrupulous scammers.”
As taxpayers begin to receive W-2 forms, IRS impersonation schemes tend to flourish.
For example, scammers prey on seniors or college students by impersonating tax authorities, solicit follow up information on a tax form, and collect identification numbers and social security information, which is then used to steal people’s money or identities.
Some scammers have even gone to the extreme of using “spoofing technology” to make their caller ID numbers come up to look like they are from the IRS. The attorney general’s regional offices throughout the state have received multiple complaints from consumers about tax preparation schemes like these.
Using recognizable and established companies, checking tax preparers qualifications and searching a company’s history through the Better Business Bureau are all ways consumers can protect themselves.
They can also avoid the costs of refund anticipation loans and checks by filing their return electronically and having refunds directly deposited into their own bank account.
“While there are plenty of legitimate and law-abiding tax preparers doing business, there are some who use the allure of fast cash to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers,” Schneiderman said. “When hiring tax preparation services, consumers must have as much information as possible to protect themselves from fraud, and should file a complaint if they feel they’ve been victimized.”
Schneiderman said free options are also available through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites. For more information about how to qualify and identify a VITA location site go to www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=107626,00.html. To report scams call 1-800-771-7755.
Article source: http://tonawanda-news.com/local/x1704534590/Tax-scams-flourishing-says-state-AG
View full post on National Cyber Security
