I wrote before about IRS-related scams. Unfortunately, it keeps getting worse, even prompting a recent Congressional Hearing.
Do not fall for those phone calls that threaten you with an immediate bank seizure or arrest unless you pay your alleged “IRS debt” on the spot. Every week, we receive calls from concerned people who were targeted by scammers, and fortunately none of our clients fell victim to those crooks – yet. One of the ring leaders was recently sentenced to 15 years in prison, but there are many more still operating.
Remember: the real IRS collectors can be persistent and intimidating, but they will not call you out of the blue or threaten you with arrests. To be able to tell the difference and protect yourself, read my earlier post about these phone and email IRS scams.
The troubling news is that IRS-related identity theft is flourishing, and there is not much you can do to prevent it. The IRS disclosed that between 100,000 and 200,000 identities were recently stolen directly from the IRS computers by sophisticated hackers. The very unfortunate result of this breach is that the IRS shut down their online Transcript download system indefinitely, until they can figure out how to make it more secure. This online transcript system was extremely useful, and I cheered when it was finally introduced in 2014. But now it is gone.
If you need transcripts, you have to order them the old-fashioned way, via mail – which, by the way, is not that secure either. Luckily, tax professionals like myself can still access IRS transcripts electronically if the client gives us the IRS Power of Attorney.
Be assured that this was not the last cyber-breach of the government data. These days, the question is no longer how to protect yourself from identity theft. Sadly, the new question is what to do should you become the next victim.
The IRS has a special hotline for the ID theft victims: 800-908-4490, Mon-Fri 7 am – 7 pm, as well as Identity Protection section on their website describing the steps to take if you suspect (or know) that your identity was stolen. Another must-visit place is the Federal Trade Commission ID Theft website which addresses identity theft in general, not just IRS-related issues. The FTC identity theft hotline is 877-438-4338.
That said, I obviously hope that you will never need to use this information.