SUNBURY —
If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to start thinking about filing your tax returns.
It’s also time to be on the lookout for tax-refund scams.
People around the country are getting messages — by phone and by email — saying “the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has determined you have qualified” for a tax refund.
Someone posing as an IRS agent then asks for credit card or bank account information or leaves a message for you to return the call, which happens to have a Washington, D.C., area code (home of the real IRS). When you call, you will be asked for the information.
According to Scambusters.org, another phone scam involves a phony IRS agent saying your “good credit and timely filing of tax returns qualifies you for no-obligation government grants” and “because you, the taxpayer, is such a good citizen, you are going to receive a $10,000 grant from the government you don’t need to repay.”
Of course, he’ll add that the grants are for a limited time only, so you must act quickly to collect. All they need is your bank account number so the money can be electronically deposited.
The email tax scam looks legitimate, including its realistic-looking but phony IRS logo. It reads, “... after the last annual calculations of your fiscal activity we have determined you are eligible to receive a tax refund” of some odd amount like $53.41. Because it’s odd, you may be lulled into thinking it must be true.
You will be instructed to click on a link that will take you to a website where you will be asked to provide your Social Security number and bank account information.
Do not click on the links.
Don’t give personal and financial information to strangers.
Hang up.
Delete.
The IRS already has all the information it needs on you.
Know that the IRS may send you a letter by mail and occasionally might call you but it will never send you a tax refund notice by email.
Every year the IRS posts warnings on its website (www.irs.gov) urging people to be on the alert for tax refund and tax related scams.
One particularly nasty scam happens when an identity thief uses a legitimate taxpayer’s identity to fraudulently file a tax return and claim a refund.
Generally, the identity thief will use a stolen Social Security number to file a forged tax return and attempt to get a fraudulent refund early in the filing season. You may be unaware this has happened until you file your return later in the filing season and discover that two returns have been filed using the same Social Security number.
Due to the growth of identity-theft cases from 2011 to 2012, the IRS doubled the number of agents (up to 3,000) working on them and are trying to help victims as quickly as possible. Last year the agency created a special ID number to make sure a return belongs to a legitimate taxpayer and according to Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary, issued those numbers to more than 250,000 taxpayers. For this year’s filing season, numbers were assigned to more than 600,000.
If you receive a notice from IRS, respond immediately. If you believe someone may have used your Social Security number fraudulently, notify IRS immediately by responding to the name and number printed on the notice or letter. You will need to fill out the IRS Identity Theft Affidavit, Form 14039.
For victims of identity theft who have previously been in contact with the IRS and have not achieved a resolution, contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit, toll-free, at (800) 908-4490.
What to watch for
This year, the Internal Revenue Service is asking you to be particularly vigilant to possible identity theft if you receive an IRS notice that states:
n More than one tax return for you was filed;
n You have a balance due, refund offset or have had collection actions taken against you for a year you did not file a tax return; or
n IRS records indicate you received wages from an employer unknown to you.
News
The Scam Man cometh
IRS adds 3,000 agents to ward off swindlers
- News
-
-
Prosecutors fight appeal in Northumberland County murder case
WILLIAMSPORT — The state attorney general’s office says the murder conviction of Kevin Marinelli should stand.
-
Selinsgrove area man charged with rape
SELINSGROVE — A 24-year-old Selinsgrove man is being held in the Snyder County jail on felony rape and related charges.
-
Federal appeals court upholds most 'kids for cash' convictions
HARRISBURG — A federal appeals court is upholding all but one of the convictions in the case of a county judge in the "kids for cash" juvenile justice scandal in northeastern Pennsylvania.
-
Toomey co-sponsors bill supporting military sexual assault victims
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Pat Toomey cosponsored legislation today to assist service members who are victims of sexual assault in the military and to hold their attackers accountable.
-
Jersey shore reopens for 1st post-Sandy summer
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. — New Jersey rolled out some of its big guns Friday to proclaim that the shore is back following Superstorm Sandy, using Gov. Chris Christie and the cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore" to tell a national audience the state is ready for summer fun.
-
Buffalo Valley Police search for hit-run driver
LEWISBURG — Police are reviewing surveillance video from nearby stores to try to identify the vehicle that struck and left a Lewisburg pedestrian in serious condition.
-
Northumberland County prison guard suspended
SUNBURY — A month that began with two Northumberland County Prison guards being fired, one quitting and a fourth suspended and under investigation is ending with another suspended without pay for allegedly distributing narcotics and delivering tobacco to inmates.
-
Today's Top Videos
-
Bridge collapse: Canadian trucking company says it had permits
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. — The trucking company involved in a Washington state bridge collapse says it received a state-issued permit to carry its oversized load across the bridge.
-
Police Log
A daily roundup of police news from around the region.
-
'Wake the Lake' kicks off Lake Augusta boating season on Saturday
SUNBURY — A number of boats will be headed to Sunbury on Saturday in order to “Wake the Lake.”
-
10 Things to Know for Today
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:
-
60 hear ideas about rail trail extension
LEWISBURG — Now that the nine miles of the rail trail from Mifflinburg to East Buffalo Township is completed to the great satisfaction of area walkers and bike riders, officials of the Buffalo Valley Recreation Authority and a design team representative rolled out several options for the next phase of the project, the 1 1/2-mile trail through Lewisburg borough to the railroad bridge over the Susquehanna River.
-
Boy Scouts approve plan to accept openly gay boys
GRAPEVINE, Texas — The Boy Scouts of America's National Council has voted to ease a long-standing ban and allow openly gay boys to be accepted as Scouts. Of the local Scout leaders voting at their annual meeting in Texas, more than 60 percent supported the proposal.
-
Parents sue Pittsburgh Zoo in boy’s mauling death
PITTSBURGH — The parents of a 2-year-old boy who was fatally mauled after falling into a wild African dogs exhibit last fall filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, claiming officials had ample warning that parents routinely lifted children onto a rail overlooking the exhibit so they could see better.
-
Obama defends drone strikes but says no cure-all
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Thursday defended America’s controversial drone attacks as legal, effective and a necessary linchpin in an evolving U.S. counterterrorism policy. But he acknowledged the targeted strikes are no “cure-all” and said he is haunted by the civilians unintentionally killed.
-
Report: Nation’s kids need to get more physical
WASHINGTON — Reading, writing, arithmetic — and PE?
The prestigious Institute of Medicine is recommending that schools provide opportunities for at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day for students and that PE become a core subject. -
Couple face charges in stabbings prompted by 'Idol' dispute
YORK — A couple face charges after police in York County say they stabbed each other during an argument over which contestant should win 'American Idol.'
- More News Headlines
-
Prosecutors fight appeal in Northumberland County murder case
