Posts Tagged ‘identity theft’

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What Can You Do To Expedite Your Income Tax Refund?

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice. 

The information that I am seeing on the Internet states that the IRS goal for having your tax refund in to your bank account is twenty-one days.  While this could be “business days”, I am thinking that it’s “calendar days”.  There are decisions that you can make and actions that you can take that will facilitate this process:

  1.  File your tax return electronically!  It has been said that “paper” is to the IRS as Kryptonite was to Superman!
  2.  Check, double-check, and triple-check your tax return for errors BEFORE you e-file!  From your correct name (that is in the Social Security Administration records) and social security number to the birth dates of your dependents to the numbers that you have entered throughout your tax return.  All numbers can be transposed.
  3. If your tax software includes this function run “Error Checking” multiple times.
  4. Be sure that the “Routing Number”, “Your Full Bank Account Number” and “Bank Name” are all correct.
  5. If you are applying for the “Child Tax Credit”, or the “Earned Income Credit”, or if you received payments for the “Economic Recovery Rebate”  be sure that you provide all of the correct information.  If you received advance child tax credit payments last year, or the Economic Recovery Credit you should receive two separate letters from the IRS stating the amounts that you received.
  6. If you have questions, use https://irs.gov or the Internet to obtain information from the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) or search for the instructions for your forms.

After you have filed your tax return you can use the IRS “Where’s My Refund” hyperlink to obtain the status of your refund ( Refunds | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov) )

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Identity Theft – Prevention & Reporting

Tuesday, June 1st, 2021

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice. 

“Identity Theft” is a global problem that is not expected to decline or even be eliminated.  Truly said “An ounce of prevention is worth far more than a pound of cure”, or rectification.  From usa.gov:

“Identity (ID) theft happens when someone steals your personal information to commit fraud. The identity thief may use your information to apply for credit, file taxes, or get medical services. These acts can damage your credit status, and cost you time and money to restore your good name.”

You must always be proactively engaged in the monitoring of all of your financial accounts, loans, invoices or bills for items that you did not authorize, or purchase, unexplained notifications from lenders for loans for which you did not apply, or unexplained debt collection calls.

Should you become the victim of Identity Theft, you should immediately contact your local law enforcement offices and the Federal Trade Commission [ Identity Theft Recovery Steps | IdentityTheft.gov ].  Again, from usa.gov:

” Freeze your credit files with Equifax, Experian, Innovis, TransUnion, and the National Consumer Telecommunications and Utilities Exchange for free. Credit freezes prevent someone from applying for and getting approval for a credit account or utility services in your name.”

You may also experience similar problems with your tax returns and the Internal Revenue Service.  However, there are some actions that you can take now to possibly avoid this situation:

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People Should Be on The Lookout for Identity Theft Involving Unemployment Benefits

Thursday, February 25th, 2021

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice. 

The IRS urges taxpayers whose identities may have been used by thieves to steal unemployment benefits to file a tax return claiming only the income they actually received.

In 2020, millions of taxpayers were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic through job loss or reduced work hours. Some taxpayers applied for and received unemployment compensation from their state. By law, unemployment benefits are taxable.

Scammers also took advantage of the pandemic by filing fraudulent claims for unemployment compensation using stolen personal information of individuals who had not filed claims. Payments made as a result of these fraudulent claims went to the identity thieves.

Taxpayers who receive an incorrect Form 1099-G should contact the issuing state agency to request a revised form. If they’re unable to get a timely, corrected form from states, they should still file an accurate tax return, reporting only the income they received. They should save whatever documentation they have regarding their attempts to receive a corrected form from their state agency.

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Is It Time For You To Finally Start Working With A Tax Preparer?

Tuesday, January 26th, 2016

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice. 

You have no doubt recently read information about the declining levels of support that is being provided by the Internal Revenue Service.  The U.S. Congress has reduced their budget significantly and the IRS has decided to reduce their number of staff, professionals, and support personnel.  Insofar as “support” is concerned, this is probably most apparent in our inability to speak with a representative using the “1-800” number to obtain answers to our tax questions, or the length of time that we are required to remain “on hold” in the telephone queue.  In stark contrast to the realties of this situation, I have found no authoritative source that has gone on record to state that the IRS has reduced their level of  required compliance with all of the tax laws nor has their been an increase in the number of allowable errors or omissions in a tax return.  The allowable error rate remains at ZERO!

In addition to the above facts, taxpayers are being subjected to (this is not a complete list) fraudulent activities such as tax scams, phishing, persons impersonating charitable organizations, persons claims to obtain free money for you from the IRS, tax return preparer fraud, threatening telephone calls, someone fraudulently filing your own tax return for you and obtaining your tax refund, fraudulent e-mails that appear to be authentic with malware or virus laden attachments, identity theft, telephone calls with phony arguments, and others calling you to inform you that you owe the IRS delinquent taxes and that your property will be seized today if you do not pay them immediately.

The IRS has always utilized the U. S. Postal service to provide you with your written initial notification that there are issue(s) with your income tax return.  They do not use the Internet nor do they use e-mails.  Period!

Given the above facts and information, there are several different groups in which most taxpayers can be classified:

1.  You are not required by law to file a tax return.  However, you may file as an option to recover Federal or state income taxes that have been withheld, or a tax refund for which you are legally due (refundable tax credits);

2.  You are required to file a tax return but you have a relatively simple tax situation.  You can file your own tax return yourself using the IRS’s “Free File” (or similar) system;

3.  You have been filing your own tax returns in the past but you have determined that you will need some (or a significant level of ) assistance in filing your tax returns now;

4.  You are already working with an Enrolled Agent,  tax attorney, or CPA.

If you now consider yourself to be in group or category #3 above, the following information may be beneficial for you:  (more…)

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Winning The “War” Against Tax Scammers!

Tuesday, January 19th, 2016

The exclusive purpose for the information which is provided from this website is to disseminate information, and not to provide tax advice. 

There exists a multitude of methods to communicate with each other within the United States, and the world for that matter.  Some (myself included) would argue that we have lost our effectiveness in communicating verbally with each other, and with other members of our family.  Another  facet of this situation has evolved from others, with both fraudulent and criminal intentions, who seek to take advantage of technology to prey upon others for their own financial gain.  In many instances, they are successful.  Unfortunately, this also imposes a huge toll on the victims in terms of both financial losses, and emotional pain and suffering.  In my opinion, both can last years in duration.

The effects are compounded by the state of our global environment – the fact that many, many Americans do not feel secure or safe.  A recent report stated that the number is higher than 70%.  Anonymous (difficult to track or identify the source) communications are pervasive.  Many American use e-mails on a regular basis.  We provide our e-mail address to sellers, suppliers, contacts etc. on a regular basis.  These parties sell that information to other sources for their own financial gain.  The information is probably re-sold to other firms.  Our personal information and data is stored for years by entities with whom we have relationships – banks, retailers, the U.S. Government, financial institutions, credit card companies, etc.  Their security systems are susceptible to being penetrated (“hacked”) and the information is captured and used fraudulently by criminals.

The contacts which you will eventually encounter include, but are not limited to: threats (may be written or oral), “phishing”, “hostage” capture of your PC and data, “Trojan Horses”, identity theft, malware, viruses, fraudulent telephone calls, “hacking” etc.  In the past several years there has been a continuous year-over-year increase in the number of serious telephone scams.  The script can be one of several forms (i.e. from the IRS or from someone claiming to be from the police or hospital stating that your son or daughter has been in an accident and is near death, or that you have an unpaid claim from  someone who has now taken legal action against you, etc.)

This post is related to those which are related to situations in which the fraudster is claiming to be from the Internal Revenue Service (Federal or state).  The caller’s goal is to intimidate you and to escalate the tenor of the call to the point at which you believe all, or most of the statements that have been made to you, and you are willing to cooperate fully with the caller.  Their ultimate goal is to have you provide them with financial information that they will use to commit their fraud.

While I can not speak for all state taxing authorities within the United States, rest assured, the IRS will always initially communicate with you in writing.  Always ignore these fraudulent calls.  If you don’t know what to do, call 911, your CPA, your attorney, or a trusted friend or relative.

Tax Scams/Consumer Alerts

 

https://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts

 

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