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IRS News Latest Scams against the taxpayer and IRS
Hiding Income Offshore
The IRS aggressively pursues taxpayers involved in abusive offshore
transactions as well as the promoters, professionals and others who facilitate
or enable these schemes. Taxpayers have tried to avoid or evade U.S. income tax
by hiding income in offshore banks, brokerage accounts or through the use of
nominee entities. Taxpayers also evade taxes by using offshore debit cards,
credit cards, wire transfers, foreign trusts, employee-leasing schemes, private
annuities or insurance plans.
In early February, the IRS announced a special voluntary disclosure
initiative designed to bring offshore money back into the U.S. tax system and
help people with undisclosed income from hidden offshore accounts get current
with their taxes. The new voluntary disclosure initiative will be available
through Aug. 31, 2011. The IRS decision to open a second special disclosure
initiative follows continuing interest from taxpayers with foreign accounts. In
response to numerous requests, information about this initiative is available on
IRS.gov in eight different languages, including: Chinese, Farsi, German, Hindi,
Korean, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Identity Theft and Phishing
Identity
theft occurs when someone uses an unsuspecting individual’s name, Social
Security number, credit card number or other personal information without
permission to commit fraud or other crimes. For example, a criminal can
use someone else's information to run up bills on that person's credit card,
empty that person’s bank account or take out a loan in that person’s name. And
when it comes to taxes, a criminal with someone else’s personal information can
file a fraudulent tax return and collect a refund.
Phishing is one tactic used by scam artists to trick unsuspecting victims
into revealing personal or financial information online. Phishing involves the
use of phony e-mail or websites -- even social media. A scammer may pose as an
institution such as the IRS. IRS impersonation schemes flourish during tax
season. Spyware, which can be loaded onto an unsuspecting taxpayer’s computer by
opening an e-mail attachment or clicking on a link, is another tool identity
thieves use to steal personal information.
Identity theft is a major problem that affects many people each year. That's
why it's important that taxpayers protect their personal information. Anyone who
believes his or her personal information has been stolen and used for tax
purposes should immediately contact the IRS Identity Protection Specialized Unit
at 1-800-908-4490. A suspicious e-mail or an “IRS” Web address that does not
begin with http://www.irs.gov should be
forwarded to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov.
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