Don’t be so quick to accept the help of strangers if they offer to make filing taxes less stressful. Tap or click here for more information on the tax prep software that was sending data back to Meta. Now, tax scams are making the rounds looking to rip you off.
Read on for ways to spot and outsmart tax scams.
Here’s the backstory
Tax scams come in many forms. A recent version saw thieves stealing personal information online and using it to file tax claims in the name of unsuspecting victims.
But they aren’t all that elaborate. Some come in the form of good old phishing attacks where the criminal sends malicious text messages or emails.
The communication can vary from claiming you are eligible for a refund or offering help to make filing taxes smoother. There is almost always a link in these malicious messages, and once you click on them, it takes you to a fake page.
“They claim that you are eligible for some kind of a rebate or a refund or some other tax benefit. If you open that text and click on the link, you may be opening yourself up to identity theft as well as a lot of other headaches, and certainly not a tax refund,” explains an AARP representative.
Skilled scammers will direct you to web pages that have been spoofed and look just like legit sites. They often use the same logo, branding or…
