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Scammers Target Tax Day, Flood the Web with Tax Scams

by Caleb Johnson on April 13, 2010 at 07:30 AM

tax scams
With tax season nearing a close, scammers are boosting efforts to steal sensitive information from people trying to file their taxes at the last minute. According to USA Today, a flurry of fake tax forms recently showed up in inboxes, on Twitter and as search results on the Web. Examples include an advertisement or malicious link, which could request your Social Security number or login information for an online account. Remember, never give this out to an unsolicited party. Some tax scams ask users to pay a sum of money in advance in order to get a larger tax return. Other tricks appear in the form of fake Internal Revenue Service (IRS) forms sent to your e-mail account. Once again, do not reply or give any information to these requests. The IRS never sends unsolicited e-mails to taxpayers.

Unfortunately, these scams probably won't go away after April 15th. Scammers can still prey on those claiming problems with their returns well after the deadline. Also, as more people file their taxes online, the number of scams will only increase in years to come. Protect yourself. Be judicious when giving out private information, and never click unfamiliar links. [From: USA Today]

Tags: email, fraud, hack, irs, scam, social security, SocialSecurity, tax, TaxDay, taxes, TaxFraud, top

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