IRS Scams Continue to Pose Serious Threats

The Internal Revenue Service has some advice for taxpayers this April Fool’s Day that may prevent them from being the victim of a tax scam: Don’t be fooled by scammers. Stay safe and be informed. Here are some of the most recent IRS-related scams to be on the lookout for:

Telephone Scams: Aggressive and threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain an ongoing threat. The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams in recent years as scam artists threaten taxpayers with police arrest, deportation, license revocation and more. These con artists often demand payment of back taxes on a prepaid debit card or by immediate wire transfer. Be alert to con artists impersonating IRS agents and demanding payment.

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DON’T BE A VICTIM TO A TAX SCAM

Each year, people fall prey to tax scams. Stay safe and be informed – don’t become a victim.

If you get involved in illegal tax scams, you can lose money or face stiff penalties, interest, and even criminal prosecution. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be on the lookout for these scams:

Telephone Scams

Threatening phone calls by criminals impersonating IRS agents remain an ongoing threat. The IRS has seen a surge of these phone scams in recent years as scam artists threaten taxpayers with police arrest, deportation, license revocation, and more. These con artists often demand payment of back taxes on a prepaid debit card or by immediate wire transfer. Be alert to con artists impersonating IRS agents and demanding payment.

Your Taxpayer Bill of Rights

Every taxpayer has a set of fundamental rights. The “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” takes the many existing rights in the tax code and groups them into ten categories. You should be aware of these rights when you interact with the IRS.   

Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer, highlights a list of your rights and the agency’s obligations to protect them. Here is a summary of the first four of ten Taxpayer Bill of Rights:

WORKING with TAX EXEMPTS

Over the years, I have been a volunteer with many charitable organizations – sometimes as a board member, other times as an executive officer and once as the President. And after being away from this kind of involvement, imagine my surprise that I find myself back into it. The cause is Women’s Running, and I am surprised as I am neither a woman nor a runner. At the gym, I prefer the recumbent bike to the treadmill.

Kathrine Switzer has been a friend and a client for nearly 35 years. If you do not recognize her name, search the internet. If you do recognize her name, you know her long history with women’s running: Starting with the 1967 Boston Marathon Kathrine was physically attacked mid-stride in the event by the race director because she was a woman who registered and was running in what was then a men’s only event; extending to her innovative Avon Women’s Sports programs; getting the Olympics to make a women’s marathon an official event; and today, as the founder of a new tax-exempt, 261 Fearless Inc. (http://womenslifestyle.com/kathrine-switzer-marathon-woman-changes-the-pace/)

LOUISIANA HOUSE BILL 195 – Cash Be Gone

Recently, the Louisiana State Congress passed a bill that effectively bans citizens from shopping with cash for all second hand transactions (defined as garage sales, antique store, flea market, charity fundraisers, etc.)

An Internet blog raises the specter of “Big Government” wanting to see where every penny is spent, draconian “capital controls” and government dictating what you can and cannot do with your money.

FAILURE IS FEEDBACK Part 5

Failure is a stepping stone towards success.  But the information that you gather only has power when it is applied to real life situations. Failure is Feedback when you can learn different lessons from the failure, and that puts you on your way to success.

It is easy to feel like a failure when something does not work out. 

FAILURE IS FEEDBACK Part 4

Failure is a stepping stone towards success. But the information that you gather only has power when it is applied to real life situations. Failure is Feedback when you can learn different lessons from the failure, and that puts you on your way to success.

It is easy to feel like a failure when something does not work out. It is first instinct to feel disappointed when your project or start-up fails. At that moment, you could not care less about feedback from failure. 

Failure is Feedback: Part 3

Failure is a stepping stone towards success. But the information that you gather only has power when it is applied to real life situations. Failure is Feedback when you can learn different lessons from the failure, which puts you on your way to success. 

The iTunes Scam

We interrupt our Failure is Feedback series to bring you the latest scam.

I would like to take a moment to thank the perpetrators who send these things to me, thinking that we will fall for it. 

Failure is Feedback: Part 2

Failure is a stepping stone towards success. But the information you gather only has power when it is applied to real life situations. Failure is feedback when you can learn different lessons from the failure, which puts you on your way to success.