11/20/2023
๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ; ๐๐ฎ๐
๐ฝ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐บ๐, ๐๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐
WASHINGTON โ As part of ongoing efforts to protect taxpayers, the Internal Revenue Service reminds people that International Fraud Awareness Week serves as an important time to protect personal and financial information from scam artists and tax schemes.
International Fraud Awareness Week, which runs through Nov. 18, is an effort to minimize the impact of fraud through awareness and education. During the special week, the IRS โ including the agencyโs Office of Fraud Enforcement and IRS Criminal Investigation โ continue working to raise awareness to fraud and scams affecting taxpayers across the country.
The IRS continues to encourage individuals, businesses and tax professionals to take time now to know the red flags of a scam, and to ensure defenses are in place to stop scammers and those who promote unscrupulous tax schemes.
Although this special week highlights international fraud, the IRS works throughout the year to raise awareness about tax scams and schemes. These efforts range from the annual Dirty Dozen list of tax scams to other tax schemes, including aggressive marketing involving Employee Retention Credit claims. In addition, the IRS, state tax agencies and the nationโs tax industry work together in the Security Summit initiative to protect taxpayers, businesses and the tax system from identity thieves and related scams.
โDuring this special week, the IRS reminds taxpayers that we are on their side and looking out for them,โ said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. โOur work on tax scams and schemes reflects this commitment. IRS employees are working to protect honest taxpayers from scam artists, raising awareness about emerging issues and rooting out the nefarious actors that perpetrate them. With modernization funding in place, the IRS is well positioned to disrupt scams as part of our transformation efforts.โ
๐๐ฅ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐: ๐ฆ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ ๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฑ
The IRS Office of Fraud Enforcement (OFE) promotes compliance with tax laws by strengthening the IRS response to fraud and mitigating emerging threats. This includes improving fraud detection, identifying areas of high risk, enhancing enforcement and helping develop and submit fraud referrals to IRS Criminal Investigation where appropriate.
During International Fraud Awareness Week, the IRS reminds taxpayers to be especially wary of scammers and promoters of bogus tax schemes aimed at reducing taxes or avoiding them altogether.
Many of these tax avoidance schemes are included in the 2023 IRS Dirty Dozen list and often involve unscrupulous asset protection professionals or promoters who lure people into placing their assets in offshore accounts and structures.
These promoters often sell their scams by promising that assets are out of the governmentโs reach. They may also suggest that digital assets are untraceable and undiscoverable by the IRS and that the transactions are anonymous. In fact, the IRS has a vast array of tools to combat offshore tax evasion, including working with its international treaty partners to identify and track assets, transactions and evidence.
๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ๐
The IRS has seen a high volume of incorrect and improper Employee Retention Credit claims and continues warning taxpayers about them. The ERC, sometimes also called the Employee Retention Tax Credit or ERTC, is a pandemic-related credit for which only certain employers qualify. The credit is not available to individual employees.
Scam promoters are luring people to incorrectly claim the ERC with โoffersโ online, in social media, on the radio or through unsolicited phone calls, emails and even mailings that look like official government letters but have fake agency names and usually urge immediate action.
These unscrupulous promoters make false claims about their companyโs legitimacy and often donโt discuss some key eligibility factors, limitations and income tax implications that affect an employerโs tax return.
Itโs important to watch for warning signs such as promoters who say they can quickly determine someoneโs eligibility without details, and those who charge up-front fees or a fee based on a percentage of the ERC claimed.
Anyone who incorrectly claims the ERC must pay it back, possibly with penalties and interest.
The only way to claim the ERC is on a federal employment tax return. The IRS continues to warn employers to not fall for aggressive marketing or scams related to the ERC. Employers should first check with their trusted tax professional before submitting an ERC claim, and the IRS has developed a special Employee Retention Credit Eligibility Checklist and Frequently Asked Questions to help people quickly determine if they might be eligible.
As part of a larger effort to protect small businesses and organizations from scams, the Internal Revenue Service created a special withdrawal process to help those who filed an ERC claim and now want to withdraw it. This new withdrawal option allows certain employers that filed an ERC claim but have not yet received, cashed or deposited a refund to withdraw their submission to avoid future repayment, interest and penalties.
The new withdrawal process follows an immediate moratorium, announced by the IRS on Sept. 14, 2023, on processing new ERC claims. The moratorium, which will last until at least the end of this year, follows concerns about ineligible ERC claims.
๐๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐น๐ฎ๐ด๐
IRS impersonation scams involve fake text messages, social media accounts, e-mail and phone calls. Knowing what to watch out for can help keep taxpayers safe.
Remember, the IRS ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ:
โช๏ธ Initiate unexpected contact with taxpayers by email, text messages or social media channels to request personal or financial information.
๐ธScammers attempt to use these methods of contact to con individuals, businesses, payroll and tax professionals into providing personal information, PINs, passwords and other data.
๐ธ If a taxpayer receives an unsolicited SMS/text that appears to be from either the IRS or a program closely linked to the IRS, the taxpayer should copy the entire message and send it as an attachment to [email protected].
โช๏ธ Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card or wire transfer. The IRS does not use these methods for tax payments.
โช๏ธ Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have the taxpayer arrested for not paying.
โช๏ธ Demand that taxes be paid without giving the taxpayer the opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed.
โช๏ธ Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
โช๏ธ Leave pre-recorded, urgent or threatening phone messages.
๐ธ In many variations of the phone scam, victims are told if they do not call back, a warrant will be issued for their arrest. Other verbal threats include law-enforcement agency intervention, deportation or revocation of licenses.
๐ธCriminals can fake or โspoofโ caller ID numbers to appear to be anywhere in the country, including from an IRS office, which makes it difficult for taxpayers to verify the actual callerโs number.
๐ธ Fraudsters have spoofed local sheriffโs offices, state departments of motor vehicles, federal agencies and others to convince taxpayers the call is legitimate.
๐ธ Any taxpayer receiving a scam phone call should hang up immediately and not give out any information.
โช๏ธ Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to report the call at IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting.
โช๏ธ Report the caller ID and/or callback number to the IRS by sending it to [email protected] with the subject โIRS Phone Scam.โ
Watching for these common scams can keep people from becoming victims of identity theft. Individuals should protect their sensitive personal information that can be used to file fraudulent tax returns and steal refunds.
๐ฆ๐บ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฏ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐
Businesses of all types and sizes, especially small businesses, need to be aware cybercriminals could target their businesses with scams to steal passwords, divert funds or steal employee information.
The IRS continues to see instances where small businesses, including tax professionals, face a variety of identity-theft related schemes that try to obtain information to file a business tax return or use customer data for identity theft.
Businesses, including tax professionals, are encouraged to follow best practices from the Federal Trade Commission, including to:
โช๏ธ Use multi-factor authentication.
โช๏ธ Set security software to update automatically.
โช๏ธ Back up important files.
โช๏ธ Require strong passwords for all devices.
โช๏ธ Encrypt devices.
In partnership with the IRS, the Security Summit initiative is at the forefront of protecting taxpayers, businesses and the tax system from identity thieves. Working together as the Security Summit, the IRS, state tax agencies and the nationโs tax industry have taken numerous steps to warn people to watch out for common scams and schemes.
