CHICO — As April 18 looms closer and closer, scammers pretending to be the Internal Revenue Service start to up the ante in call volume.
Each year different government sources, such as usa.gov, issue warnings about these types of scams and how to identify and avoid falling prey to them.
One of the primary tactics used by these scammers is through threats over the phone or in the form of a letter telling the individual that they owe money to the IRS and demand a payment, often by way of a prepaid debit card or money wire transfer. But the IRS will never ask to be paid via sketchy prepaid gift cards.
Another frequent con is acted out through sending text messages or email verifications asking you to provide personal information one last time after doing taxes. This one can be more dubious as businesses who help people do their taxes often do send verifications — though they will never ask for personal information such as social security or banking numbers. As always, never freely give out personal information, even when the other party is threatening you through phone calls or emails.
These scams can often be sloppy as well. I did my taxes in February and still receive phone calls from bots asking for verification.
Tax season can be a stressful time for many families and seniors and payments, as well as returns, can make or break the bank. Scammers feed off of this stress and fear to manipulate people into forking over their hard-earned dollars.
The IRS asks those who…
