• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Jobs
  • Career
    • Cyber Security Training
    • Work from Home
    • Cyber Security Analyst
    • Remote Work – Six Ways to Keep Your Data Safe When Working Remotely
  • Field Guide
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Deals
  • News
AskCyberSecurity.com

AskCyberSecurity.com

Cyber Security News & Information

  • Home
  • Data Privacy
    • Gamers
    • Government Cyber Security
      • Legislation
      • Standards
        • What are the risks of computer security?
        • Medical Cyber Security
    • Social Media
  • Security
    • Data Breaches
    • Scams
    • Malware
  • Software
    • Apps
    • Web Browsers
  • Glossary
    • Cyber Security Acronyms
  • About Ask Cyber Security
    • Authors
    • Contact Us
  • VPN
    • How Do I Know If My VPN is Working?
    • Best Free VPN iPhone
    • Why Use a VPN?
    • NordVPN vs IPVanish
    • Private Internet Access Download
    • Best VPN for Streaming
      • TikTok VPN
    • VPN Porn
    • Computer Security Software – What You Really Need
  • Tutorials
  • ChatGPT
    • Does ChatGPT Save Data?
AskCyber Home » News » Government Cyber Security » Tax Scams – Beware of the Taxpayer Advocate Service Scam

Tax Scams – Beware of the Taxpayer Advocate Service Scam

2019-04-15 by Michelle Dvorak

Taxpayer Advocate Service Scam

Tax Day – Don’t Fall Victim to the Taxpayer Advocate Service Scam

It’s tax day which means tax scammers are also in the final days of their seasonal push to take your tax refunds, steal your identity, and deploy other creative was to commit tax related cybercrimes. But what if you have already filed a legitimate return or find you cannot pay your federal taxes on time? Well, there’s a tax scam for that too. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) warns of yet another variant of tax identity theft – the Taxpayer Advocate Service scam.

Even if your taxes are filed and you’ve received your return, you are not immune to attempted tax-related scams. The IRS warns about a new variation of the IRS impersonation phone scam. In this taxpayer scam, criminals call taxpayers and impersonate representatives from the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS.) They either dog for personal data or threaten taxpayers with criminal actions if they don’t make payment during the phone call.

Like other IRS impersonation scams, the Taxpayer Advocate Service scam involves thieves placing phone calls to their intended victims and then fraudulently claiming to be from TAS. With the TAS scam, a robocall is sent first using a spoofed IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service number at the Houston or Brooklyn office. The robocall urges the recipient to call back. If the taxpayer returns the call, the scammer claims to be from TAS using a fake IRS badge number. They then try to gather personal data like Social Security number. The scammer may also become hostile and demand payment of taxes by a prepaid debit card or wire transfer.

Hostile tax scam callers may threaten targets with jail time or a driver’s license suspension. In that scenario, they might even call back from another spoofed phone number pretending to be from local law enforcement or the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

TAS scam callers may also try to convince a taxpayer that they are entitled to a large refund but must first provide personal data to receive the money. The scam caller might even know the last four digits of the taxpayer’s Social Security number from information bought on the dark web or from a social engineering attack.

What is the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service?

The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent and legitimate organization within the IRS. TAS helps taxpayers resolve IRS issues. If someone cannot pay their taxes, TAS may help. However, TAS does not initiate contact with taxpayers, someone needing assistance would contact TAS first.

What is Tax-related identity theft?

Tax-related identity theft occurs when a scammer or hacker uses your Social Security number to file a fraudulent IRS tax return and claims a refund. The thief may have the refund sent to a bank account or address they have access to. They might also send the return to you, and then contact you and continue the scam to have the money forwarded to them

How to Protect Against Tax-Related Scams

Tax-related scams are initiated by criminals. Remember the IRS will never initiate contact with a taxpayer by phone or email. The IRS always sends official notices though US Postal mail first. Scammers are capable of spoofing official IRS phone numbers to make it appear they are calling from an IRS office. To test to if a call is scam, you can hang up and call the office number listed on an official IRS website.

  • IRS agents do not call taxpayers to tell them about an unexpected tax refund
  • IRS agents do not take payments over the phone. They also never take payments in the form of gift cards, debit cards, prepaid credit cards, or wire transfers. If there is any money owed, the IRS will send a bill in the mail
  • Taxpayers always have the opportunity to question or appeal any amount owed
  • If a scammer calls, you hang up and report the phone call to the IRS

Filed Under: Government Cyber Security Tagged With: IRS, tax scam

About Michelle Dvorak

Michelle writes about cyber security, data privacy focusing on social media privacy as well as how to protect your IoT devices. She has worked in internet technology for over 20 years and owns METRONY, LLC. Michelle earned a B.S. in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Michelle published a guide to Cyber Security for Business Travelers


LinkedInTwitterFacebook

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

We Don't Share or Sell Your Info

Web Browsers

Where Are My Saved Passwords in Chrome?

Google Removes 70 Malicious Browser Add-ons from Chrome Web Store

Firefox 75 Reports Your Browser Settings to Mozilla

Categories

Cyber Security Field Guide

Computer Security While TravelingGet Our Cyber Security Field Guide - Available on Amazon!

Recent Posts

Security Marketing Manager – Remote

Sr. Associate, Cybersecurity Architect – Pfizer

Strategic Customer Success Manager – Cybersecurity – Opportunity for Working Remotely

Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

ISU Cybersecurity Leader Job Opening

Cyber Security News

Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

… [Read More...] about Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

Apple Warns of Actively Exploited Zero-Day Flaw

… [Read More...] about Apple Warns of Actively Exploited Zero-Day Flaw

IRS Stops Facial Recognition System for Online Access

… [Read More...] about IRS Stops Facial Recognition System for Online Access

National Cybersecurity Alliance Announces Data Privacy Week

… [Read More...] about National Cybersecurity Alliance Announces Data Privacy Week

More Cyber Security News

Tags

amazon Android Apple bitcoin China chrome CISA credit card DarkSide DHS DOJ Equifax Europe Facebook facial recognition FBI Firefox FTC games GDPR Google Government hacker identity theft India iPhone Iran IRS LinkedIn Microsoft North Korea PayPal phishing phishing email ransomware REvil Russia smartphone T-Mobile TikTok tutorial VPN WhatsApp WiFi Windows

Government

CBP Looks to Access Airline Passenger Data

FTC Releases Cyber Threat Video Playlist

Malware Found on US Government Funded Phones

UK NCA Reaches Out to Youth to Deter Cybercrimes

More Posts from this Category

Footer

Menu

  • Home
  • About
  • Authors
  • Newsletter Signup
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Search

Why Use a VPN?

NordVPN vs IPVanish VPN Review

NAVIGATION

  • Data Breaches
  • Data Privacy
  • Gamers
  • Scams
  • Malware

MEMBER NJCCIC

New Jersey Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell

STAY CONNECTED

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Copyright © 2023 · AskCyberSecurity.com · METRONY, LLC

Go to mobile version