Olde Hornet
Well-Known Member
That letter from the IRS could be a fake. Watch out for this tax scam and others in 2020
Most of us find it nerve-racking enough that we're forced to focus on gathering our piles of paperwork to fill out our tax returns.
Now adding to our stress, we must watch out for tax season scam artists, too. The crooks are everywhere from the gym parking lot to the latest emails and text messages.
A new trend: Expect an increase in ransomware attacks in 2020 on tax preparers where time-sensitive files may be frozen and only thawed when tax preparers pay a ransom to the hackers, according to Adam Levin, founder of CyberScout, which offers identity theft protection and data security.
Levin said sometimes a ransom is paid, the files are released and the hackers still use data that has been stolen to file false tax returns.
That letter from the IRS could be a fake. Watch out for this tax scam and others in 2020
Crooks want your Social Security number and other personal information to file fake returns so they can to steal tax refunds.
www.usatoday.com
Most of us find it nerve-racking enough that we're forced to focus on gathering our piles of paperwork to fill out our tax returns.
Now adding to our stress, we must watch out for tax season scam artists, too. The crooks are everywhere from the gym parking lot to the latest emails and text messages.
A new trend: Expect an increase in ransomware attacks in 2020 on tax preparers where time-sensitive files may be frozen and only thawed when tax preparers pay a ransom to the hackers, according to Adam Levin, founder of CyberScout, which offers identity theft protection and data security.
Levin said sometimes a ransom is paid, the files are released and the hackers still use data that has been stolen to file false tax returns.