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The tax filing season is a popular time for scammers to call and dupe unsuspecting taxpayers. These thieves often make threatening or alarming calls posing as the IRS to try to steal taxpayer money or personal information.

The IRS doesn’t initiate contact with taxpayers by email, text messages, or social media channels to request personal or financial information. This includes requests for PIN numbers, passwords, or similar access information for credit cards, banks, or other financial accounts.

It’s easy for people to recognize this scam by knowing how the IRS contacts taxpayers.

The IRS will never:

  • Call to demand immediate payment using a specific payment method such as a prepaid debit card, gift card, or wire transfer. Generally, the IRS will first mail a bill to any taxpayer who owes taxes.

  • Threaten to immediately bring in local police or other law enforcement groups to have the taxpayer arrested for not paying.

  • Demand that taxes be paid without giving taxpayers the opportunity to question or appeal the amount owed.

  • Call unexpectedly about a tax refund.

Taxpayers who receive these phone calls should:

  • Record the number and then hang up the phone immediately.

  • Report the call by visiting the Hotline page of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and using an IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting form or by calling 800-366-4484.

  • Report the number by sending an email to phishing@irs.gov and put “IRS Phone Scam” in the subject line.

If you feel you’ve been contacted by a scammer posing as someone from the IRS, an additional way you can report their actions to the IRS is at this website https://www.irs.gov/privacy-disclosure/report-phishing

Advisory Services are offered through MRA Advisory Group, a Registered Investment Adviser. This information was developed by Broadridge, an independent third party. It is general in nature, is not a complete statement of all information necessary for making an investment decision, and is not a recommendation or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. The investments and strategies mentioned may not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Nothing herein, nor any attachment, shall be considered to constitute (i) an offer to sell, nor a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any security, or (ii) tax or legal advice.

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