Top Tax Relief Scams To Avoid

In every industry there are scammers, fraudsters and thieves. The tax industry, unfortunately, is no different.

At Civic Tax Relief, we don’t expect that every potential customer will share our story, our values, and our reputation with every one of their friends, family members, and acquaintances who are shopping for a tax preparer. But we hope you do!

We’re proud to say that we have more core business values than most tax preparers have clients. While some will lie to steal a dollar, our team of attorneys puts food on the table due to our reputation, by word-of-mouth referrals. We survive because of our commitment to every client, because we uphold accountability, trust, reliability, passion, and knowledge as the foundation of good business and good living.

We care about our clients, but we also care about the reputation of our industry. So whether or not you end up considering Civic Tax Relief to help with your tax troubles, we want you to be careful.

Below is a list of common scams to beware of heading into tax season:

• PHISHING SCAMS: Disseminated via email or the Internet, phishing scams prompt you to click a link and input personal information. They’ll then use this either to steal your identity or crack other vital passwords and gain access to bank and other financial accounts. If you get a threatening email from the IRS that requires you to input personal information, don’t! The IRS states that it will “never initiate contact with taxpayers via email about a bill or refund.”
• PHONE SCAMS: Phone scams are on the rise, wherein someone calls claiming to be a representative of the IRS. If this happens, take down names, phone numbers, and email addresses and say you’ll call them back, then report them to the IRS immediately. Never–EVER–provide bank account information or wire money via the phone. This is not how the IRS operates.
• FAKE TAX PREPARERS: At Civic Tax Relief, we’re part of a large community of honest, above-board tax preparers and consultants. Know that not everyone is an honest broker. Before you offer up personal information, make sure you talk to a real person. Get names, phone numbers, emails addresses, tax IDs, and credentials. If you’re providing all of the information and getting none in return, be skeptical. And beware of claims of inflated refunds. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Read the full list of the IRS’ “Dirty Dozen” tax scams for 2017, and contact us for questions, concerns, or a consultation.