- Benjamin F. Edwards | Financial Advisors - https://www.benjaminfedwards.com -

Tax Tip Tuesday: Beware of the Dirty Dozen of Tax Scams

By Jeffrey R. Wolfe, Senior Vice President, Manager of Wealth Planning Strategies

Tax scams continue to rise, including new Covid-19 related scams. The IRS continues to monitor their “Dirty Dozen” of tax scams. These are the most common and most dangerous scams that affect taxpayers. The top three continue to be:

Also on the rise are fake charities trying to exploit the latest natural disasters and Covid-19 concerns.  The IRS reminds us that Taxpayers can find legitimate and qualified charities with the search tool on IRS.gov.

What this all means is that you need to be on the lookout for scammers and thieves. The IRS is doing their best to help you as well. They recommend the following precautionary steps:

There IRS also offers several recommended links to review as well. To learn additional steps you can take to protect your personal and financial data, visit Taxes. Security. Together. You also can read Publication 4524, Security Awareness for Taxpayers. If you are interested in the rest of the Dirty Dozen, you can review the list here.

If you expect a refund, make sure you get it! Remain diligent when managing your tax preparations, and if something seems “phishy” from the IRS, trust your instincts and question what’s going on to help avoid being scammed.