Stay Vigilant During Tax Season

It’s the middle of tax season, and you may have noticed more junk mail in your mailbox than usual or more phishing emails in your inbox.  Perhaps you’ve even experienced an increase in those pesky telemarketing calls lately.  As a fellow NCPC blogger pointed out last month, tax season can offer more opportunities for scammers trying to rip people off.  These criminals trust that the average American taxpayer is stressed at this time of year, and hope that we might be more prone to slip up and make mistakes under the additional pressure associated with preparing our sensitive tax documents.

That is why, as you finish preparing your taxes, it is important to be vigilant in protecting your personal information.  Don’t let your guard down in the home stretch and allow identity thieves to exploit you. Luckily, organizations such as the National White Collar Crime Center release information to keep consumers aware of some of the scams in circulation. Recently, they warned of a certain telephone-based phishing scam (PDF) in which data thieves impersonated IRS officials. Be sure to read the press release, and keep an eye out for similar ruses over the next couple months.

But, be careful not to limit your scope. Just because there is an influx of tax-related scams doesn’t mean that scammers have stopped coming at you from other angles as well.  Check out this recent Washington Post article about another bizarre phishing scam.  If you receive that one, you will have plenty of reasons to report it to the authorities. Just keep your eyes open and always think twice before opening emails from unknown or unfamiliar sources!