Kelley Long, CPA, personal finance specialist and certified financial planner, joined Cheddar News to offer tips on how people can protect themselves from tax-related scams during the filing season.

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What to Do to Protect Yourself From Tax-Related Scams

Tax filing season is here. And that means scammers are also busy to get a hold of your tax refund check. In fact there were almost eight million reports of tax-related suspicious activity last year and Americans reporting losing almost $6 billion tax-related identity theft in 2021. Well joining me now is kelly Long, a C. P. A personal finance specialist and certified financial planner kelly, thanks so much for coming on and in this very important time of the year. How can we protect ourselves from tax related identity theft? Hi Kristen, thanks for having me. This really important thing to talk about this time of year and most important thing to know about how tax related identity theft even happens. It's not when somebody steals your tax return. It's actually when a scammer uses your information to file a return with false numbers to claim a refund and they take it and then when you file your return with the right numbers, the I. R. S. Says, nope, we already got your return sorry and they kick it back. And at that point it's on you to prove that you are you and that can take months years to figure out. And if you're expecting a refund, you don't get your refund until you've proven that the return that you filed is the right one. Yeah, I think that would be horrible right to happen to someone. Just the headache associated with it. And of course the delay in that actual refund. If you're able to get it. Let's talk about filing digitally. How safe are some of these common platforms kelly like TurboTax, even cash app and H. And R. Block. That's a great question. A lot of people think that filing through the mail would be safer because they think that you know it's a common misconception that filing online is what makes your data at risk. Your data is already out there, your data is already at risk. So filing online is actually a safer way, 90% of people actually file online these days. And that's the I. R. S. Is recommended method to make sure that they get the return from you as soon as possible. That that's really the only way to prevent tax related identity theft. 100% is to just file your return before a scammer can and doing it online. Not only gets it to the I. R. S. Safely and quickly but it can also expedite your return or your refund. Okay so file digitally I think versus in the mail that's a good takeaway kelly. What about some tips? What are some telltale signs here that a scammer is trying to take advantage of you and your information. A best practice for all things identity theft related is to never click on a link in an email and enter your personal information or a text message either. And this is not just for taxes even if you are expecting like your credit card payment bill to come. I always switch over to my browser and go to a bookmarked link to pay my bill just in case somebody made a, the email that looks just like it's coming from a bank. That is how these scammers get most of your information is called fishing and the best just not clicking on links and entering your personal information is probably the biggest tip there. The other thing to know is the I. R. S. Never initiates contact over email or the phone. They're always gonna send you a letter first and then the letter is going to go to the address that's on the tax return that they have a question about which is why it's important to check your mail forward your mail. They will send you several letters before they're gonna start calling or showing up at your door. So I always say if you're getting an email from the I. R. S. You should be expecting that email from them. Otherwise it's a scam kelley such great advice. I wish we had more time but we got to leave it there. That's kelly Long C. P. A personal finance specialist and certified financial planner.