IRS Dirty Dozen of 2015

The IRS has released its 2015 Dirty Dozen list of the most popular tax fraud and scams methods currently used by the tax criminals. According to this list, which is available on the IRS website, aggressive phone calls from so-called IRS collection agents continue to be a problem across the nation. The IRS receives reports from American taxpayers stating that tax scammers threatened them with deportation, police arrest, and license revocation. It is important to remember that the IRS officials never request a full payment of the past due taxes over the phone. If you owe taxes to the IRS, you will be notified about this liability via mail that will have valid contact information for the IRS office that is currently assigned to your case.

FBI Investigating Tax Returns Fraud

Yahoo Finance has reported on the ongoing investigation initiated by the FBI after US States Departments of Revenue reported criminal activity that affected a lot of taxpayers. Many people in various states were not able to file their 2014 income tax returns through Turbo Tax, the well-known Intuit Inc. software, because these returns were already filed by tax scammers in an attempt to get fraudulent tax refunds.

He Can’t Be Caught

Another incredible example of a contact with tax scammers was posted on LimaOhio.com., a news channel of Lima, Ohio. The Sheriff’s Office of the Mercer County warned people in its community about an ongoing phone tax scam; the same type of scam that seems to be sweeping the country at the moment. Police received a number of complaints from local residents about tax crime attempts made by someone over the phone. There was nothing new in that scheme – the caller pretended to be from the IRS and threatened to sue just any person who answered the phone. One of the residents was able to provide police with the phone number of the scammer, and police Detective Doug Timmerman returned that call.

Americans Fight Back Against Tax Scammers

More and more American taxpayers have become aware of tax scams and various methods that criminals use to steal money from people. The IRS itself, together with many tax resolution companies, put a lot of effort into increasing public understanding of the legal approach to tax collection, which helps them to recognize tax scammers.

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration on Tax Scams

When we hear about tax scammers that steal money from people by making telephone calls, we can’t imagine that this can ever happen to us. However, according to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), J. Russell George, nearly 3,000 American taxpayers paid over $14 million in total to the phone scammers. Although tax criminals operate year-round, they find tax filing seasons particularly rewarding. Therefore, this is that time of the year when we all have to be especially careful.