TULSA, Okla. — When it comes to filling out her taxes, Shaina Clapper guards against tax scams.
“Yah, I get scams all the time,” Shaina told us, as we tagged along with her and Ms. Hazelnut, her dog, during one of their daily walks.
Shaina does have an advantage of spotting those tax scams, as both her parents prepared taxes for a living.
So she knows the red flags.
“I actually had a letter from the IRS once,” Shaina recounts, as she mentions a somewhat convincing scam attempt she came up against last year.
“It wasn’t actually from the IRS, they were saying you owed more money, or something like that.”
“Nope” she says. She didn’t fall for it after bouncing it off her dad.
Who would also warn folks about one of the newest tax scams meant to take taxpayers to the cleaners, which a viewer from Broken Arrow called the Problem Solvers to ask about.
“I got a call,” Heleena tells us, “from someone who says he’s a tax preparer and can help me set up a special online account with the IRS, which would mean a quicker refund and other advantages.”
After a quick check with the IRS, we found out Heleena nearly fell victim to a phone, text, and email scheme that is on the IRS dirty dozen list of current tax scams.
The IRS says an online account does provide valuable tax information and updates regarding your IRS account.
But that information in the wrong hands can help cyber thieves devastate the lives of honest taxpayers.
And it’s important to repeat … giving your personal information to someone who says they can set up that account … gives them the means to steal your refund and identity.
In reality, you can easily setup an online account yourself by going to the IRS website.
Back to Shaina…
“I’m tired of getting text message scams,” she says.
She just shrugs them off, especially as she does her taxes.
“I just did them in one day, and I’m done.”
For her, tax season is over, scam free.
As for the IRS, it wants more taxpayers to be like Shania, watching out for those criminals who say they want to help with your taxes in a variety of scams, but who are only out to steal your money and even your identity.
If you do fall victim to a tax scam, the IRS says you should report it right away by filling out a form 14242.
You can find that form on the IRS website.
Contact the Problem Solvers:
- 918-748-1502
- problemsolvers@kjrh.com
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