Menu
HARIK THOMPSON CPAs
  • About
    • Team
      • Patricia Harik
      • Kevin Thompson
    • Affiliation
  • Services & Industries
    • Accounting Services
    • Business Consulting
    • Entertainment Industry
    • Estates and Trusts
    • Financial Planning
    • International Taxation
    • Tax Strategies
  • Insights
  • Resources
  • Payments
  • Contact
  • About
    • Team
      • Patricia Harik
      • Kevin Thompson
    • Affiliation
  • Services & Industries
    • Accounting Services
    • Business Consulting
    • Entertainment Industry
    • Estates and Trusts
    • Financial Planning
    • International Taxation
    • Tax Strategies
  • Insights
  • Resources
  • Payments
  • Contact

Avoid These Financial Hoaxes

4/8/2020

 
Be on the lookout for a surge of calls and emails from scammers trying to cheat you with promises of financial relief, just when you may be feeling desperate. Tax-related fraud and identity theft scammers are out and about looking to make a quick — and crooked — buck.
The IRS is urging everyone to take extra care, especially regarding the $1,200 checks that are on their way:
  • The IRS isn't going to call you asking to verify or provide your financial information so you can get your economic impact payment or your refund faster. No one at the IRS will contact you by phone, email, mail or in person asking for any kind of information to complete your economic impact payment, which also has been referred to as your rebate or stimulus payment.
  • Nor is the IRS going to send you a special application email. Don't open the email; don't click on attachments or links. Always go straight to the source, IRS.gov, which will have the most up-to-date data.
Below are some general tips to keep safe from scammers:
  • Watch out for emails, text messages, websites and social media attempts that request money or personal information. Criminals take every opportunity to perpetrate fraud on unsuspecting victims — especially when a group of people is vulnerable or in a state of need — hoping to trick people so they can get their hands on our payments.
  • If you haven't provided direct deposit information to the IRS, there will be a newly designed secure portal on IRS.gov in mid-April. Do not provide your direct deposit or any other banking information to anyone who says they'll input your information on any portals.
  • Retirees beware: No one from the IRS will be reaching out to you by phone, email, mail or in person asking for any kind of information to complete your economic impact payment. The IRS is sending these $1,200 payments automatically to retirees — no additional action or information is needed on your part to receive this.
  • Watch out for scammers who use the words "Stimulus Check" or "Stimulus Payment." You work directly with the government on these — you don't need any "help" from third parties.
  • Don't sign over your economic impact payment check to anyone.
  • Don't give in to anyone — whether on the phone, through email, by text messages or on social media — who is pressuring you for verification of personal and/or banking information. Scammers will promise that this will speed up your payment. Don't believe anyone who says that they'll get you your payment faster.
  • Watch out for bogus checks in an odd amount. Scammers will tell you that you need to call a number to verify information to be able to cash it. Don't fall for it!
How you can report coronavirus-related and other phishing attempts:
  • Forward any unsolicited emails, text messages or social media attempts to phishing@irs.gov.
  • Learn more about suspected scams by going to the Report Phishing and Online Scams page on IRS.gov.
  • Official IRS information about the COVID-19 pandemic and economic impact payments can be found on the Coronavirus Tax Relief page on IRS.gov.
Don't get swindled out of $1,200! Anyone who asks you for personal or financial information to get your $1,200 federal payment is not legit.

Comments are closed.

    Newsletter articles are posted every 2 weeks. ​

    If you would like to have our e-newsletter delivered directly to your inbox, please sign up. Your information is confidential; you can unsubscribe at any time. Subscribe.

    Categories

    All
    1040-X
    1099 Form
    2021 Adjustments
    401Ks And IRAs
    529 College Savings Plans
    941 Form
    ACA Affordable Care
    Accounts Receivables
    ADA Americans With Disabilities Act
    Alternative Minimum Tax
    Annuities
    ASC 606
    Audits
    Back Pay
    Backup Withholding
    Bankruptcy
    Basis
    Benefit Transfers
    Blockchain
    Bonuses
    Budgeting
    Business Closure
    Business Deductions
    Business Interest Expense
    Business Interruption Insurance
    Business Structure
    Business Tips
    Capital Gains
    CARES Act
    Cash And Accrual
    Cash Flow
    Charitable Gifts
    Commercial Real Estate Vacancies
    Communication
    Compensation
    Coronavirus
    Coronavirus Relief Package
    Credit Cards
    Credit Score
    Crowdfunding
    Death And Debt
    Debt
    Deductions
    Depreciation
    Disaster Relief Payments
    Disaster Tax Break
    Diversity Training
    Dividends
    Divorce
    D&O Insurance
    Dollar Cost Averaging
    Down Payment
    Dress For Success
    Earned Income Tax Credit
    Economic Injury Disaster Loan
    Education Credits
    EIN Employee ID Numbers
    EITC
    Elder Mediation
    Employee Direct Deposit
    Employee Leave
    Employee Overpayment
    Employee Ownership
    Employee Pay
    Employee Retention Credit
    Employees Cross State Lines
    Employee Taxes
    Employment Record Keeping
    Employment Taxes
    Entertainers
    ESOP
    Estate Planning
    Estate Taxes
    Estimated Taxes
    Executor
    Expenses And Depreciation
    Expensing Rules
    Family Businesses
    Family Leave
    FATCA
    Federal Excise Tax
    Fiduciary
    Filial (Adult Child) Responsibilities
    Filial Responsibility
    Filing Status Options
    Financial
    Financial Advisor
    Financial Planning
    Flood Insurance
    Floods
    Foreign Earned Income
    Franchise Ownership
    Fraud
    Freelancing
    Furloughs
    Harik Thompson Merger
    Headcount Reporting
    Health Care
    Health Savings Account
    HIPAA
    Hiring Compliance
    Hiring Help
    Hiring Tax Credits
    Hoaxes
    Hobby Vs. Business
    Home Equity Loans
    Home Office Deduction
    Homeowners
    Homeowners' Deductions
    HSA
    Hurricanes
    IC-DISC
    Identity Theft
    Income Tax
    Independent Contractors
    Inflation
    Information Return
    Inherited Mortgage
    Innocent Spouse Rule
    Insurance
    Intestate
    Inventory Management
    Investing
    Investors For Your Business
    IRAs
    IRS CP2000
    IRS Disagreements
    IRS Identity Protection PIN
    IRS Representation
    IRS Rights
    Joint Tenancy
    Key Performance Indicators
    Kiddie Tax
    Layoffs
    Lease Accounting
    Leave
    Legacy
    Life Insurance Trusts
    Loans
    Long Term Care Insurance
    Managing Employees
    Market Capitulation
    Marriage Penalty
    Maternity And Paternity Leave
    Medicaid Trust
    Medical And Dental Deductions
    Medicare
    Mergers
    Mileage Rates
    Morale
    Mortgages
    Multistate Taxes
    Myers-Briggs Personality Types
    Net Investment Tax
    Net Pay
    New
    Newsletters
    New Tax Law
    Noncompete Agreements
    Operating Loss
    Opportunity Zones
    Organize Your Finances
    OSHA
    Outsourced Accounting
    Overtime Exemption
    Padding
    Pandemic Planning
    Papers For Taxes
    Part-time Help Tax Rules
    Passwords
    Payable On Death Accounts
    Paycheck Protection Program
    Payday Changes
    Payday Frequency
    Payroll Cards
    Payroll Scams
    Payroll Taxes
    Pensions
    Personal Finances
    Power Of Attorney
    PPP Loan
    Private Tax Debt Collection
    Profit Sharing
    Property Taxes
    Protecting Wealth
    QSEHRA Benefits
    Quarterly Tax Returns
    R & D Tax Credit
    Real Estate 1031 Exchange
    Real Estate Held In IRA
    Real Estate Investment Trusts
    Reciprocal Agreements
    Records
    Recovery Rebate Credit
    Referral Program
    Rehiring Staff
    Remote Employees
    Reporting
    Reputation
    Retirement
    Revenue Recognition
    Reverse Mortgage
    Sales Tax
    SBA Loans
    Schedule C
    S Corporations
    Self Employment Taxes
    Severance Pay
    Sexual Harassment
    Sharing Economy Tax Implications
    Sick Leave Rules
    Small Business Administration
    Social Media
    Social Security
    Spendthrift Trust
    State And Local Taxes
    Student Loans
    Success
    Succession Plan
    Supplemental Wages
    Supply Chain Risks
    Tariffs
    Tax Brackets
    Tax Breaks
    Tax Changes
    Tax Credits
    Tax Debt Collection
    Tax Deductions
    Tax Forms
    Tax Implications
    Tax-Loss Harvesting
    Taxpayer First Act
    Tax Planning
    Tax Preparation
    Tax Reform
    Tax Refunds
    Tax Scams
    Tax Tips
    Trump's Tax Law
    Unemployment Tax
    W-2 Form
    W-4 Form
    W-4 Requests
    Wage Garnishments
    Wages And Overtime
    Wildfire Solution
    Wills And Trusts
    Withholding
    Work Opportunity Tax Credit
    Year End Tax Considerations

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly