Vegas Voice May 2023 Edition

46
IRS Scams
By: Dan Roberts / Publisher
It’s that wonderful time of year – spring is in the air, the cherry
blossoms coming back to life, and even the crack of the bat
signaling that new baseball season.
But we hope you didn’t forget about April 15 th - tax day. Scammers
didn’t. And don’t you fall for that IRS scam.
You know, that’s when you get a “phone call” from that IRS
informing you that your taxes are not paid, or that there was a
mistake in your filing.
The “agent” might tell you that you must pay up now or the US
Marshalls will be coming to your house or perhaps the IRS is missing
valuable information
which you can
simply provide to
the person on the
phone to clear up any
misunderstanding.
Remember what
we have been saying:
Government agencies
(and especially the
IRS) will never call,
email, or text you
to ask for personal
information - like
your Social Security
or bank account
number
And if you receive
this message via
email, never click on the links. It’s a trap.
One more thing: Don’t trust your caller ID. While that caller ID
might show an actual government agency, any caller ID can be
faked by the bad guys.
What do you do if this happens to you? It’s simple. If you have any
concerns about its legitimacy, contact the IRS directly.
Remember our Senior Scam number 1 rule: NEVER,
NEVER, NEVER give out any personal information over the
phone. That includes your date of birth, Social Security, Medicare,
and your bank accounts numbers.
And if anyone demands payment by means of a gift card, Western
Union money transfer or even cryptocurrency, it’s a 100% scam.
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS.
So, what do you do if you get that phone call or email?
Take a deep breath, listen to your brain, and DELETE, DELETE,
DELETE that email - and if by telephone, HANG UP THE
PHONE, HANG UP THE PHONE & HANG UP THE PHONE.
We’ll have more scams in future editions. Until then, The Vegas
Voice hopes that everyone stays safe, be smart and to always -
SLAMS THOSE SCAMS.
34
May 2023