Welcome to the first season

Welcome to the first season - tax fraud

Regarding identity theft, you really can not afford to relax - the criminals that are out of you certainly aren 't release: in 2014, there was a new victim of identity fraud every two seconds. In the same year, $ 16 billion has been stolen 12.7 million American consumers. (See III on the scope of identity theft).

Between January and April, imitators IRS and tax evaders are in full force. The scams often occur through aggressive phone calls, email phishing and spam websites online fake, or even via social media. Some of the sites of common scam to watch out for:

• get a bigger return and get faster ... just click here and sign
• You must update your online folder .. give your social security number
• This is the IRS. You need a lot of money in back taxes - pay now or we
• you need a small amount of taxes or fees, here's a quick way to pay online so that you do not have your refund [stop
• please make a tax-free gift to <> charity or <> political fund

Two types of fraud are particularly common IRS Impersonators -. usually telephone threats - and tax preparer fraud. You can read about the most common types of tax evasion from the IRS Dirty Dozen last year.

Consumer Reports shares some great ideas to outwit fraudsters. We like this:

The thieves usually claim tax refunds by filing taxes before their victims are. So another way to protect yourself is to file before the deadline of tax, which is Monday, April 18 of this year (April 19 in Maine and Massachusetts).

Here are some other tips to avoid becoming a victim of ID Theft:

• do not trust the number that appears on your caller ID or the electronic identification. These can be falsified. Do not click any link or provide any information. Instead, go directly to the site or call the organization yourself to make payments or donations.
• Do not give out credit cards, birth dates, social security numbers or other sensitive information to callers you do not know. Never send this information by email, which is precarious.
• Create secure passwords. Use different passwords for all accounts involving sensitive information or payments. This may sound complicated, but this minor inconvenience pales in comparison to the problems you will have if someone steals your ID.
• Review your credit card and bank statements regularly. Check free credit reports every year with this website allowed.
• Avoid conducting financial transactions over insecure public WiFi networks.
• Make sure your browser is up to date and the applied security patches.
• Keep an eye on the parents or older friends - elderly people are often specifically targeted for fraud

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