It’s that wonderful time of year – spring is in the air, the cherry blossoms coming back to life, and even the crack of the bat signaling that new baseball season.
But we hope you didn’t forget about April 15th – tax day. Scammers didn’t. And don’t you fall for that IRS scam.
You know, that’s when you get a “phone call” from that IRS informing you that your taxes are not paid, or that there was a mistake in your filing.
The “agent” might tell you that you must pay up now or the US Marshalls will be coming to your house or perhaps the IRS is missing valuable information which you can simply provide to the person on the phone to clear up any misunderstanding.
Remember: Government agencies (and especially the IRS) will never call, email, or text you to ask for personal information – like your Social Security or bank account number
And if you receive this message via email, never click on the links. It’s a trap.
One more thing: Don’t trust your call ID. While that caller ID might show an actual government agency, any caller ID can be faked by the bad guys.
What do you do if this happens to you? It’s simple. If you have any concerns about its legitimacy, contact the IRS directly.
Remember our Senior Scam Number 1 rule: NEVER give out any personal information over the phone. That includes your date of birth, Social Security, Medicare, and your bank accounts numbers.
And if anyone demands payment by means of a gift card, Western Union money transfer or even cryptocurrency, it’s ALWAYS a scam.
So, what do you do if you get that phone call or email? Take a deep breath, listen to your brain, and DELETE, DELETE, DELETE that email – and if by telephone, HANG UP THE PHONE, HANG UP THE PHONE & HANG UP THE PHONE.We’ll have more scams in future editions and don’t forget to watch our always informative Scams videos on our website.
