Best practices for avoiding online scammers during tax season

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Scammers work year-round but they are especially busy during the tax season. With Valentine's Day and Super Bowl Sunday also on the horizon, online thieves are pulling out all the stops.

The Better Business Bureau is alerting the public to the schemes that con-artists will use over the next several weeks. It will be taxing as people prepare to file with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). And, as the tax season picks up, scammers will capitalize on the pressure taxpayers are under. This year's filing deadline is Tuesday, April 18.

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"No matter how you get your taxes done, you could encounter a scam attempt," says Steve J. Bernas, BBB president and CEO. "As the 2023 tax season opens, tax scammers come out of the woodwork. These cons come up with creative methods to entice busy consumers to fall for their tricks. They utilize imposter phone calls, texts, emails, and even phony letters to capitalize on the fears and emotions when filing taxes."

BBB tax time tips:

• The best way to avoid tax ID theft is to file your taxes as early as possible before a scammer has the chance to steal your information and file a fake tax return.
• Always check out a new tax preparer before you do business with them, and a great place to start is with BBB.ORG for ratings and reviews.
• Ask any tax preparer you are thinking of hiring what security steps they will take to protect your data.
• Check out websites carefully and make sure you access the actual IRS website when filing your taxes electronically or inquiring for additional information.
• When in doubt, contact the IRS directly to verify any contact, not a number in an email or text.
• The IRS will never threaten you or demand immediate payment, require a specific form of payment, or ask for credit card or debit card numbers over the phone.
• Be wary of a tax preparer offering fast refunds or large returns. What you owe is solely based on your past year's tax information and the current tax laws.
• Only allow funds to be deposited into your personal accounts. Some ghost tax preparers will have funds deposited into their own accounts "to be later distributed.
• Review your tax return before it's submitted to ensure it was signed properly by your tax preparer.
• Be wary of spectacular promises. Avoid tax preparers who offer "refund anticipation loans" as you'll probably lose a large percentage of your return to commission fees.
• Think about availability. If the IRS finds errors in your tax forms or decides to perform an audit, will your tax preparer be available to help you with the details? Find out whether you can contact the tax preparer all year long or only during tax season.
• Contact the IRS immediately if you get: a written notice from the IRS about a duplicate tax return, a notice stating that you received wages from a company that you never worked for, or any notice that "additional taxes are owed, the refund will be offset, or a collection action is being taken against you."
• Protect your Social Security number (SSN). Do not give out your SSN unless you are 100% sure you are dealing with someone you trust.