BBB gives tips on avoiding tax scams

CAPE GIRAREAU, Mo. (KBSI) – Americans lost a total of $8.8 billion in 2022 a 30% increase from 2021 and tax season is prime time for scammers. 

Sydney Waters is the Regional Director of the Better Business Bureau and she says scammers usually try to contact people in two ways.

By phone or by phishing. 

Phishing is when an unsolicited message comes in the form of a text message, email, or through social media.  

“So these messages will come with a link saying that they will take you to an external website that then captures your information and then scammers will use that information to file taxes in your name,” said Waters.

On scam phone calls they usually ask you to give them personal information or tell you that you owe back taxes and ask you to pay it over the phone. It’s important to remember the IRS will never ask you to pay them over the phone or contact you through social media or text message and they will always send you a letter before attempting to call you.

When choosing a tax preparer make sure you choose someone you trust with all your personal information.  

“So when you do file your taxes there’s a few things you’re going to want to check which is when you’re on the IRS website or using a separate tax preparer then make sure that the URL matches up from the site that your trying to be at and also make sure it’s a secure website and you can do that by looking for a small lock icon to the left of the URL,” said Waters. 

You can also go to bbb.org to find tax preparers or look up a tax prepare and see how they’ve been rated.